Superparamagnetic Nanoparticle-bound Chlorotoxin for Brain Tumor Imaging

Keywords:
nanoparticles, glioma, MRI, NIRF, chlorotoxin

Abstract:
Malignant gliomas are the most common primary intracranial tumors in patients. The difficulty in differentiating tumor and normal brain tissue, and the unusual ability of gliomas to infiltrate the brain pose a formidable challenge in glioma therapy and diagnosis. A potential approach is to modify superparamagnetic nanoparticles with target agents that specifically bind to gliomas and inhibit tumor invasion while the nanoparticles serve as a contrast enhancement agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for non-invasive tumor diagnosis and targeted therapy analysis. Here we describe a novel nanoparticle tumor-detection system based on a conjugation of superparamagnetic nanoparticles with the chlorotoxin peptide for intracranial tumor targeting. The nanoparticles are coated with the biocompatible linker molecule poly(ethylene glycol) that will protect nanoparticles from agglomeration. Included in this system is the near-infrared fluorophore (NIRF) Cy5.5 which will allow for intraoperative identification of harmful tissue.

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Nanotech 2005 Conference Program Abstract