Gold Nanotheranostics: Photothermal Therapy and Imaging of Mucin 7 Conjugated Antibody Nanoparticles for Urothelial Cancer

Abstract

Objective. To kill urothelial cancer cells while preserving healthy cells, this study used photothermal therapy (PTT). PTT techniques target urothelial cancer cells using gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and a green light laser. Materials and Methods. The GNPs were conjugated with anti-Mucin 7 antibodies, which acted as a probe for targeting tumor cells. Conjugated GNPs were exposed to a green light laser (532 nm) with sufficient thermal energy to kill the transitional cell carcinomas (TCCs). Results. According to our results, nanoparticles conjugated with Mucin 7 antibodies damaged all types of cancer cells (MBT2, T24, 9202, and 8301) at relatively low energy levels (i.e., 500 laser shots at 10 W/cm2 in power, 1.6 Hz in frequency, and 300 ms in duration). Nonconjugated nanoparticles required 30 W/cm2 or more to achieve the same effect. Cell damage was directly related to irradiation time and applied laser energy. Conclusions. The minimally invasive PTT procedure combined with Mucin 7 targeted GNPs is able to kill cancer cells and preserve healthy cells. The success of this treatment technique can likely be attributed to the lower amount of energy required to kill targeted cancer cells compared with that required to kill nontargeted cancer cells. Our in vitro pilot study yielded promising results; however, additional animal studies are required to confirm these findings.

Photo-thermal therapy of bladder cancer with Anti-EGFR antibody conjugated gold nanoparticles

“…The excellent photothermal properties of GNPs have led to their application in a variety of treatment techniques which target cancer cells (22,30,31). For example, GNPs can be used to rapidly detect abnormal genes or cancer cells, which improves cancer diagnosis and treatment.…”

“…This study hypothesized that photothermal therapy (PTT) using GNPs would help reduce side effects and disease recurrence. Our findings reveal that the laser energy required to damage GNPtreated cancer cells is far below that of cells that were not treated with GNPs (22). The markers of urothelial carcinoma include Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) (23), mucin7 (MUC7) (24), and cytokeratin 20 (CK20) (25).…”

“…The antibody on the GNPs can target the overexpressed antigen in the tumor, which can enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatment. Furthermore, this approach requires a shorter treatment time to achieve obvious effects and can also induce a state of hyperthermia with relatively low laser power, thereby preventing injury to nearby normal tissue (22).…”

Antibody-Targeted Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment

“…In this study, hollow gold nanospheres were conjugated to anti-TROP2 mAbs using a thiol-terminated PEG linker, generating functionalised NPs able to reduce cell viability significantly more than non-targeted controls following exposure to NIR laser [118]. In another study, gold nanospheres were targeted to urothelial cancer cells using antibodies against Mucin-7; a commonly used target in bladder cancer [117], and activated using green laser light.…”

Detecting Tumor Metastases

“…Gold nanoparticles, due to stability, biosafety, and ability to be modified for better delivery and targeting are routinely used to deliver a wide variety of therapeutics (Khan, Rashid, Murtaza, & Zahra, 2014). Utility of gold nanoparticles as imaging or diagnostic agents is related to particle absorption spectrum and upon application of laser irradiation, gold nanoparticles serve as energy transducers and induce photothermal killing as shown by different studies including breast (Au et al, 2008; Jin, Hong, Kakar, & Kang, 2008), glioblastoma (Jin et al, 2008), oral (El-Sayed, Huang, & El-Sayed, 2006), and urothelial cancer (Chen, Wu, & Chen, 2015). Other nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes, silica-based nanoparticles have also demonstrated theranostic properties in specific situations (Xie et al, 2010).…”