Abstract 4199: Acidic pH-targeted nanorods facilitate detection of orthotopic pancreatic tumors via multispectral optoacoustic tomography

Abstract

Abstract We present a precision cancer nanomedicine based on acidic pH targeted chitosan coated mesoporous silica coated gold nanorods (CMGs) designed for multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT). We have conjugated pH-sensitive variant 7 pHLIP peptide to the CMGs (V7-CMG) to provide targeting specificity to the acidic tumor microenvironment. For treatment and detection of resistant malignancies such as pancreatic cancer, such targeting modalities may help to improve treatment and enhance tumor detection. The V7-CMGs provide the ideal contrast and targeting specificity necessary for MSOT imaging of retroperitoneal orthotopic pancreatic tumors. The pH-sensitivity of the targeting pHLIP peptide and chitosan coating makes the particles suitable for simultaneous in vivo tumor imaging and drug delivery. In vitro studies confirm the pH-sensitivity of CMG drug release and tumor cell specific nano-cargo delivery. Citation Format: Matthew Zeiderman, Kelly M. McMasters, Phillip Chuong, Lacey R. McNally. Acidic pH-targeted nanorods facilitate detection of orthotopic pancreatic tumors via multispectral optoacoustic tomography. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4199.