MRI‐Visual Order–Disorder Micellar Nanostructures for Smart Cancer Theranostics

Abstract

This development of MRI-visual order-disorder structures for cancer nanomedicine explores pH-trigger mechanism for theragnosis of tumour hallmark functions. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) stabilised with amphiphilic poly(styrene)-b-poly(acrylic acid)-doxorubicin with folic acid (FA) surfacing is employed as a multi-functional approach to specifically target, diagnose and deliver drugs via a single nanoscopic platform for cancer therapy. The functional aspects of the micellar nanocomposite is investigated in vitro using human breast SkBr3 and colon cancer HCT116 cell lines for the delivery, release, localisation and anticancer activity of the drug. Our work shows, for the first time, concentration dependent T 2 -weighted MRI contrast for a monolayer of clustered cancer cells. The pH tunable order-disorder transition of the core-shell structure induces the relative changes in MRI contrast. The outcomes elucidate the potential of this material for smart cancer theranostics by delivering non-invasive real-time diagnosis, targeted therapy and monitoring the course and response of the action before, during and after the treatment regimen.Submitted to 3

Cyanine based Nanoprobes for Cancer Theranostics

“…Nanotechnology advancement is taking significant pace to address factors that have constantly limited the therapeutic outcomes in multiple tumor models. In the past few years, various novel smart NPs demonstrating stimuli‐responsive properties (both chemical and physical) have witnessed increased interest in cancer theranostic applications . NPs engineered to undergo variety of physical modifications such as size deformability, charge switching, hydrophilic‐hydrophobic phase transitions, shredding of PEG corona, and enzymatic degradations in tumor microenvironment are mostly exploited smart delivery vehicles .…”

Advanced Functional Nanomaterials for Theranostics

“…[81] The physical and biomedical properties, such as improving stability, blood circulation time and selectivity, can be adjusted by the selection of surface properties. Reported coating materials include PEG [82, 83] , PAA [84] , peptides or proteins [85, 86] , aptamers [87] and zwitterionic compounds [88] . Radionuclides have been incorporate with SPIONs for multimodal imaging.…”

Nanomaterials—Tools, Technology and Methodology of Nanotechnology Based Biomedical Systems for Diagnostics and Therapy

“…Here, the combination of diagnostics and therapeutics, in the form of nanomaterial-derived theranostics, seems to be a promising avenue to precisely target malignancies at the cellular level and deliver tailored treatments to the appropriate recipient, thus, reducing patients’ burden caused by high-dosage application of pharmaceutical remedies. All these approaches, however, hinge on a full understanding of all aspects of cancer biology, such as the biology of oncogenes and tumor-suppressors and the role of the tumor environment in the genesis and the progression of cancers, as well as the influence of hypoxia exerted on the properties of cancers (see [62,63,64] and references therein as guides to principles and recent advantages).…”