Development of a nanoparticle platform for simultaneous tumor imaging and therapy (R-8155)

Nanoparticle based theranostic (i.e. therapeutic and diagnostic) agents have enormous potential to treat diseases like cancer. Furthermore, photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a highly promising technique as it is minimally invasive and presents reduced complications as compared to chemotherapy or surgery. PDT involves a photosensitizer (PS), which upon irradiation gets excited and generates cytotoxic reactive oxygen species that damage cancer cells. Most of the current PSs are sensitive to UV or visible light, limiting their applicability due to the small tissue penetration depth. In this project, dual functioning organic PSs will be developed to realize image-guided therapy, active in the near infrared to allow maximal tissue penetration and integrating the benefits of both fluorescence imaging and PDT. The hydrophobic PSs will be encapsulated within biodegradable polymer nanoparticles and the nanoparticle based PS probes will be evaluated for their dual functioning modality. The encapsulation allows for better dispersibility in aqueous media, prolonged circulation half-life, and enhanced biodistribution, resulting in improved pharmacokinetic properties. The intracellular characteristics of the nanoprobes will be investigated using advanced optical imaging techniques and their usefulness for image-guided PDT will be validated. The fundamental insights achieved will serve as a basis for future studies using such nanoprobes for fluorescence-guided PDT in a clinical protocol.

Keywords:Development of nanoparticles

Disciplines:Organic chemistry