Pancreatic cancer is one of the most devastating cancers known to mankind, with a 5-year survival rate of only 4% because of difficulties such as late detection and the position of the pancreas in the body, which is difficult to access. Current therapies lack the specificity and efficacy to treat late stage cancers, but nanotechnology is a promising pathway to more effective treatmentoptions. Our project aims to create a nano-vehicle composed of an iron-oxide core coated with a gold shellthat provides targeted damageto cancer cells while being tracked in vivo with MRI. A synthetic scheme to coat iron oxide nanoparticles with gold uses (3-aminopropyl)-trimethoxysilane (APTMS), 2 nm gold nanoparticle 'seeds', and a commercially available gold enhancement kit. The gold shell formation on iron oxide core was optimized by adjusting synthetic parameters and characterized using several analytical techniques (FT-IR, UV-Vis, DLS, and TEM). Functionalization of the gold shell relies upon the strength of an avidin-biotin conjugated system anchored to the nano-vehicle through polyethylene glycol (PEG) linkers, which also add stability to the nanovehicle. Avidin, an egg white protein with four biotin binding sites, is first bound to heterobifunctional biotinylated-PEG-thiol on the surface of the particle. Monoclonal antibody CHO 31.1 that targets the glycoprotein gpA33 expressed by many pancreatic tumors, and the therapeutic agent, a boron-10 enriched polymer which can be utilized for boron-neutron capture therapy are attached as biotinylated molecules. Functionalization can be monitored through changes observed with techniques such as UV-visible spectroscopy, DLS, and dot-blots.

Constructing a targeted nano-vehicle for pancreatic cancer treatment

247th National Meeting (2014)

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