Aptamer-modified gold nanoparticles for targeting breast cancer cells through light scattering

Abstract

Localization microscopy has shown to be capable of systematic investigations on the arrangement and counting of cellular uptake of gold nanoparticles (GNP) with nanometer resolution. In this article, we show that the application of specially modified RNA targeting gold nanoparticles ("SmartFlares") can result in ring like shaped GNP arrangements around the cell nucleus. Transmission electron microscopy revealed GNP accumulation in vicinity to the intracellular membrane structures including them of the endoplasmatic reticulum. A quantification of the radio therapeutic dose enhancement as a proof of principle was conducted with γH2AX foci analysis: The application of both-SmartFlares and unmodified GNPs-lead to a significant dose enhancement with a factor of up to 1.2 times the dose deposition compared to non-treated breast cancer cells. This enhancement effect was even more pronounced for SmartFlares. Furthermore, it was shown that a magnetic field of 1 Tesla simultaneously applied during irradiation has no detectable influence on neither the structure nor the dose enhancement dealt by gold nanoparticles.

Molecular imaging with nanoparticles: giant roles for dwarf actors

“…They are excellent substrates for optical imaging (Chen et al 2005;Elghanian et al 1997) and photoacoustic imaging (Copland et al 2004). They have been used for true molecular imaging based on attachments of aptamers to visualise cancer cells (Huang et al 2008a). Silver nanoparticles also exhibit extremely interesting optical properties (Haes and Van Duyne 2002) and can be considered for targeted molecular imaging.…”

“…For pharmaceutical applications, aptamers require modiWcation to provide resistance against nucleases and to prolong their lifetime in the bloodstream (Brody and Gold 2000). Aptamers bound to signal emitters, such as Xuorochromes or radionuclides, label cancer cells selectively (Hicke et al 2006;Chu et al 2006a) and are capable of suppressing the proliferation of some cancer cells (Huang et al 2008a). They have been targeted mainly to prostate cancers, but also to breast cancer, lung cancer, and lymphomas (Shangguan et al 2006).…”

Characterisation of gold nanoparticles synthesised by leaf and seed extract ofSyzygium cuminiL.

“…Among various synthesis methods, plant-mediated synthesis is preferred due to its cost effectiveness and environment-friendly nature [3,4]. GNP have applications in therapeutic [5], catalysis [2], immunoassay and immunosensing [6], diagnostic and drug delivery [7][8][9][10], analyte sensing [11][12][13], cancer cell diagnostics and selective photothermal therapy [14,15], photoacoustic imaging [16,17] and cancer treatment [18]. Various plant extracts have been explored for the synthesis of GNP, namely tamarind [19], Aloe vera [20], Pelargonium graveolens [21], Diopyros kaki [22], Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Pelargonium roseum [23], coriander [24], Scutellaria barbata [25], lemongrass [26], Datura metel, Carica papaya and Solanum melongena [27].…”

Cell-Specific Aptamers for Nano-medical Applications

“…For these reasons, cell-targeting aptamers have been functionalized via thiol chemistry with gold nanoparticles for in vitro imaging purposes. AuNPs were equipped with an aptamer towards platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) (Huang et al 2008) via thiol chemistry as described in 1998 by Storhoff et al (1998). The AuNPs are visualized using the reflecting mode of a confocal microscope.…”