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Peptide‐Targeted Gold Nanoparticles for Photodynamic Therapy of Brain Cancer
Author(s) -
Meyers Joseph D.,
Cheng Yu,
Broome AnnMarie,
Agnes Richard S.,
Schluchter Mark D.,
Margevicius Seunghee,
Wang Xinning,
Kenney Malcolm E.,
Burda Clemens,
Basilion James P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
particle and particle systems characterization
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.877
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1521-4117
pISSN - 0934-0866
DOI - 10.1002/ppsc.201400119
Subject(s) - photodynamic therapy , in vivo , biodistribution , drug delivery , chemistry , in vitro , cancer research , cancer , targeted drug delivery , cancer cell , drug , pharmacology , medicine , biochemistry , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , organic chemistry
Targeted drug delivery using epidermal growth factor peptide‐targeted gold nanoparticles (EGF pep ‐Au NPs) is investigated as a novel approach for delivery of photodynamic therapy (PDT) agents, specifically Pc 4, to cancer. In vitro studies of PDT show that EGF pep ‐Au NP‐Pc 4 is twofold better at killing tumor cells than free Pc 4 after increasing localization in early endosomes. In vivo studies show that targeting with EGF pep ‐Au NP‐Pc 4 improves accumulation of fluorescence of Pc 4 in subcutaneous tumors by greater than threefold compared with untargeted Au NPs. Targeted drug delivery and treatment success can be imaged via the intrinsic fluorescence of the PDT drug Pc 4. Using Pc 4 fluorescence, it is demonstrated in vivo that EGF pep ‐Au NP‐Pc 4 impacts biodistribution of the NPs by decreasing the initial uptake by the reticuloendothelial system (RES) and by increasing the amount of Au NPs circulating in the blood 4 h after IV injection. Interestingly, in vivo PDT with EGF pep ‐Au NP‐Pc 4 results in interrupted tumor growth when compared with EGF pep ‐Au NP control mice when selectively activated with light. These data demonstrate that EGF pep ‐Au NP‐Pc 4 utilizes cancer‐specific biomarkers to improve drug delivery and therapeutic efficacy over untargeted drug delivery.