Biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles containing gold nanoparticles and Paclitaxel for cancer imaging and drug delivery using photoacoustic methods.

Eric M Strohm,Michael C Kolios,Yanjie Wang,Yang Sun,Zhigang Wang,Yuanyi Zheng,Zhaoxia Wang

doi:10.1364/boe.7.004125

Abstract

In this study, optical-triggered multifunctional theranostic agents for photoacoustic/fluorescent imaging and cancer therapy have been developed. This system consists of a perfluorohexane liquid and gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in the core, stabilized by a Poly (lactide-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) polymer shell. When cancer cells containing PLGA-GNPs were exposed to laser pulses, cell viability decreased due to the vaporization of the particles in and around the cells. The particle chemo drug loading and delivery capacity was also investigated in vitro experiments. These particles show potential as photoacoustic imaging and therapy agents for future clinical translation in cancer therapy.

Highlights

Cancer remains as a deadly disease which affects millions of people around the world
Based on our previous work, in this study, we propose a method of combining an imaging and therapeutic technique in a single procedure by developing multifunctional nano-carriers (< 600 nm) for PA/fluorescent imaging and as drug delivery vehicles
Gold nanospheres were synthesized based on the single-phase aqueous reduction of tetrachloauric acid by sodium citrate developed by Turkevich et al [38] and Frens et al [39], modified by Bastús et al [40], coated with silica according to a modified method described by Liu and Han [41], and fluorinated via 24 hour incubation at room temperature with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane [42]

Summary

Introduction

Cancer remains as a deadly disease which affects millions of people around the world. Over the past few decades, there has been considerable interest in developing biodegradable nanoparticles (NPs) as effective drug delivery devices [3, 4] due to their enhanced drug loading capacity, biological stability and sustainable circulation time in vivo [5,6]. These nano-particles have the ability of functional conjugation to facilitate targeting [7,8,9], and are able to deliver drugs at intracellular locations, thereby resulting in enhanced therapeutic action [3, 10, 11].

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Conclusion