A Targeted Mulifunctional Platform for Imaging and Treatment of Breast Cancer and Its Metastases Based on Adenoviral Vectors and Magnetic Nanoparticles
Abstract
Nanotechnology holds many promises for the imaging and treatment of breast cancer. In particular, magnetic nanoparticles can be utilized for tumor imaging via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques and tumor treatment by heating after exposure to an alternating magnetic field. However, selective targeting of the nanoparticles to the tumor cells needs to be accomplished before the imaging or therapy can be successful. In this respect, adenoviral (Ad) vectors for gene therapy have made great progress in achieving successful tumor targeting after their intravenous administration. We therefore hypothesized that coupling magnetic nanoparticles to targeted Ad vectors would allow the selective localization of these particles to the tumor, thereby making imaging and therapy possible. We herein identified that coupling gold nanoparticles to the Ad capsid protein hexon does not perturb vector infectivity or retargeting efficiency in vitro. Furthermore, we identified that available magnetic nanoparticles did not provide enough contrast to be suitable for Ad-mediated delivery and subsequent MRI. We therefore pursued the coupling of quantum dots (QDs) as an alternative imaging-method, and demonstrated that Ad vectors can deliver these intracellularly in breast cancer cells. However, QDs abrogated transgene expression of the Ad vectors by reasons not related to size or coupling chemistry. Future research will aim at identifying the reasons for transgene abrogation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA482120
Entities
People
- Maaike Everts
Organizations
- University of Alabama