Antibody conjugated nanoparticles have a multitude of uses in cancer and infectious disease identification and treatment at the cellular level, including enhanced drug delivery, biomedical imaging, and phototherapy. Gold nanoparticles are commonly used in nano therapies due to their high surface area to volume ratio, multi-functional surface chemistry, unique optical properties, and their stable, non-toxic, and non-immunogenic nature. Gold nanoparticles, however, lack antibacterial properties unless ampicillin is bound to their surface. Silver nanoparticles have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal properties, and anticancer properties yet are toxic to the human body. A rather new development in more effective cancer treatment options is the addition of an antibacterial component to counteract the symbiotic relationship between bacteria and cancer cells within the human body. The merits of using silver-based immunotherapeutic agents have continually proven to outweigh the cons. We aim to create a gold-silver nanoparticle hybrid so that the best properties of both the gold and silver nanoparticles can be more effective together, treating disease while also allowing gold’s inherent properties to limit the negative toxic impacts that silver nanoparticles pose to the human body. The nano-hybrid component of the bioconjugate consists of a plate-like silver core surrounded by a thin layer of gold coating, which will achieve the high plasmonic activity and chemical stability that are essential for cancer treatment. Once synthesized, these gold-silver nanoparticle hybrids will then be conjugated to cancer-specific antibodies. The avenues of both passive absorption and covalent linkage are both being thoroughly explored to see which will garner the best results in attempting to conjugate, optimize, and link the core-shell nanoparticles to the cancer-specific antibodies. The project will then enter its next phase of employing ultrafast spectroscopy microscopy in the visible and infrared spectrums to capture the dynamics of the energy flow from nanoparticles to cancer cells.

Cancer nanomedicine: Creation and utilization of targeted nanoparticles for use as cancer therapies

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.