Work

Gold Nanoparticle Imaging and Radiotherapy of Brain Tumors in Mice

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: AIM: To test intravenously injected gold nanoparticles for x-ray imaging and radiotherapy enhancement of large, imminently lethal, intracerebral malignant gliomas. MATERIALS & METHODS: Gold nanoparticles approximately 11 nm in size were injected intravenously and brains imaged using microcomputed tomography. A total of 15 h after an intravenous dose of 4 g Au/kg was administered, brains were irradiated with 30 Gy 100 kVp x-rays. RESULTS: Gold uptake gave a 19:1 tumor to normal brain ratio with 1.5% w/w gold in tumor, calculated to increase local radiation dose by approximately 300%. Mice receiving gold and radiation (30 Gy) demonstrated 50% long term (>1 year) tumor-free survival, whereas all mice receiving radiation only died. CONCLUSION: Intravenously injected gold nanoparticles cross the blood-tumor barrier, but are largely blocked by the normal blood-brain barrier, enabling high-resolution computed tomography tumor imaging. Gold radiation enhancement significantly improved long-term survival compared with radiotherapy alone. This approach holds promise to improve therapy of human brain tumors and other cancers.

Source: Nanomedicine

DOI: 10.2217/nnm.12.165

Authors: James F Hainfeld, Henry M Smilowitz, Michael J O‘Connor, Farrokh Avraham Dilmanian, Daniel N Slatkin

Institutions: Nanoprobes (United States), UConn Health, State University of New York, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University

Language: English

Topic: Radiation Therapy and Dosimetry

Subfield: Radiation

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute