Gold Nanoparticles for Targeted Delivery of Chemotherapeutics to Prostate Tumors

Abstract

The design of novel nanoparticle platforms for targeted and efficient drug delivery is critical for improving cancer nanomedicine. Current treatment strategies for cancer are limited by the nonspecific and highly cytotoxic nature of chemotherapeutic drugs to the body as a whole. Targeted nanoparticles represent a way to delivery chemotherapeutics to treat cancer without the need for high dosing regimens and unwanted off-target cytotoxicity. Dendronized gold nanoparticles have an ideal size that allows for enhanced circulation and can be coated with a poly(propylene imine) (PPI) dendron that confers biocompatibility, active targeting and stimuli-responsive drug release. This work describes the synthesis of a dendronized PPI gold nanoparticle with multifunctional potential for conjugation to chemotherapeutics like doxorubicin, an active targeting antibody fragment, and a gadolinium chelate magnetic resonance imaging contrast imaging agent. The multifunctional nanoparticles here display strong targeted uptake as seen with TEM, strong cytotoxicity against PC3 prostate cancer cells, and have excellent potential as a cancer nanotechnology platform.