A Novel Clinically Translatable Fluorescent Nanoparticle for Targeted Molecular Imaging of Tumors in Living Subjects

作者：Jinhao Gao, Kai Chen, Richard H. Luong, Donna M. Bouley, Hua Mao, Tiecheng Qiao, Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, Zhen Xiang Cheng · 发表于：Nano Letters · 年份：2011 · DOI：10.1021/nl203526f · 被引用次数：123 · 研究领域：Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics、Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques、Nanocluster Synthesis and Applications

The use of quantum dots (QDs) in biomedical research has grown tremendously, yet successful examples of clinical applications are absent due to many clinical concerns. Here, we report on a new type of stable and biocompatible dendron-coated InP/ZnS core/shell QD as a clinically translatable nanoprobe for molecular imaging applications. The QDs (QD710-Dendron) were demonstrated to hold several significant features: near-infrared (NIR) emission, high stability in biological media, suitable size with possible renal clearance, and ability of extravasation. More importantly, a pilot mouse toxicity study confirmed that QD710-Dendron lacks significant toxicity at the doses tested. The acute tumor uptake of QD710-Dendron resulted in good contrast from the surrounding nontumorous tissues, indicating the possibility of passive targeting of the QDs. The highly specific targeting of QD710-Dendron-RGD(2) to integrin α(v)β(3)-positive tumor cells resulted in high tumor uptake and long retention of the nanoprobe at tumor sites. In summary, QD710-Dendron and RGD-modified nanoparticles demonstrate small size, high stability, biocompatibility, favorable in vivo pharmacokinetics, and successful tumor imaging properties. These features satisfy the requirements for clinical translation and should promote efforts to further investigate the possibility of using QD710-Dendron-based nanoprobes in the clinical setting in the near future.