International Journal of Nanomedicine (Jun 2010)

Antibody-conjugated gold-gold sulfide nanoparticles as multifunctional agents for imaging and therapy of breast cancer

  • Emily S Day,
  • Lissett R Bickford,
  • John H Slater,
  • et al

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2010, no. default
pp. 445 – 454

Abstract

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Emily S Day, Lissett R Bickford, John H Slater, Nicholas S Riggall, Rebekah A Drezek, Jennifer L WestDepartment of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USAAbstract: The goal of this study was to develop near-infrared (NIR) resonant gold-gold sulfide nanoparticles (GGS-NPs) as dual contrast and therapeutic agents for cancer management via multiphoton microscopy followed by higher intensity photoablation. We demonstrate that GGS-NPs exposed to a pulsed, NIR laser exhibit two-photon induced photoluminescence that can be utilized to visualize cancerous cells in vitro. When conjugated with anti-HER2 antibodies, these nanoparticles specifically bind SK-BR-3 breast carcinoma cells that overexpress the HER2 receptor, enabling the cells to be imaged via multiphoton microscopy with an incident laser power of 1 mW. Higher excitation power (50 mW) could be employed to induce thermal damage to the cancerous cells, producing extensive membrane blebbing within seconds leading to cell death. GGS-NPs are ideal multifunctional agents for cancer management because they offer the ability to pinpoint precise treatment sites and perform subsequent thermal ablation in a single setting.Keywords: cancer, nanomedicine, multiphoton microscopy, photoluminescence, photothermal therapy, theranostics