Phosphonate–Titanium Dioxide Assemblies: Platform for Multimodal Diagnostic–Therapeutic Nanoprobes

Abstract

Multimodal imaging-therapeutic nanoprobe TiO(2)@RhdGd was prepared and successfully used for in vitro and in vivo cell tracking as well as for killing of cancer cells in vitro. TiO(2) nanoparticles were used as a core for phosphonic acid modified functionalities, responsible for contrast in MRI and optical imaging. The probe shows high (1)H relaxivity and relaxivity density values. Presence of fluorescent dye allows for visualization by means of fluorescence microscopy. The applicability of the probe was studied, using mesenchymal stem cells, cancer HeLa cells, and T-lymphocytes. The probe did not exhibit toxicity in any of these systems. Labeled cells were successfully visualized in vitro by means of fluorescence microscopy and MRI. Furthermore, it was shown that the probe TiO(2)@RhdGd can be changed into a cancer cell killer upon UV light irradiation. The above stated results represent a valuable proof of a principle showing applicability of the probe design for diagnosis and therapy.

Exogenous Physical Irradiation on Titania Semiconductors: Materials Chemistry and Tumor‐Specific Nanomedicine

“…As another paradigm, titania nanoparticles were integrated with manganese oxide nanoparticles to construct a composite nanosystem, where the integrated manganese oxide nanoparticles acted as the contrast agents for T 1 ‐weighted MR imaging and guided the SDT of cancer as contributed by the titania component in the composite nanosystem (Figure b) . Especially, titania nanoparticles were simultaneously conjugated with fluorescent moieties and Gd‐based chelates for labeling HeLa cancer cells by both fluorescence microscopy and MR imaging, showing the dual‐imaging capability of the titania‐based composite nanosystem (Figure c) . Additionally, the construction of magnetic Fe 3 O 4 –TiO 2 nanocomposites achieved simultaneous T 2 ‐weighted MR imaging and PDT against MCF‐7 cancer cells …”

“…c) Schematic illustration of surface conjugation of fluorescent moieties and Gd chelates for concurrent fluorescence and MR imaging, and the further UV‐activated production of hydroxyl radicals for killing the cancer cells. Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2011, American Chemical Society.…”

Polyaspartamide–Polylactide Graft Copolymers with Tunable Properties for the Realization of Fluorescent Nanoparticles for Imaging

“…In this paper, the synthesis of novel fluorescent amphiphilic graft copolymers with tunable functional and structural properties by following easy and repeatable strategies is described. In fact, starting from these copolymers, it is possible to realize fluorescent nanostructured systems with great potential in both in vitro and in vivo imaging …”

Personalized nanomedicine advancements for stem cell tracking

“…The widespread use of gadolinium as a cell labeling agent may be hampered by difficulties in the synthesis of stable, water soluble solutions [163]. However, recently, there have been several reports on new approaches that incorporate gadolinium within the metal-based core of nanoparticles [164], or polymer-based scaffolds [165]. While Gd chelates are characterized by a relatively low signal per molecule, the formation of gadolinium oxide nanoparticles with certain magnetic properties has been shown to be useful for tracking hematopoietic cells [166].…”