Hybrid Nanoprobes Target Breast Cancer Cells

Cancer researchers have developed hybrid gold/iron magnetic nanoparticles that, when coated with specific antibodies, are able to target cancer cells, signal the tumor location, and may eventually be able to attack and kill the tumor.

Investigators at Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN, USA) coated their hybrid nanoprobes with the monoclonal antibody Herceptin. This antibody is used as a drug to treat breast cancer that has metastasized in women whose tumor cells produce an overabundance of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). The nanoprobes comprise a magnetic iron region that is detectable by MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) in deep tissue and a luminescent gold region that may be observed in surface tissues with an appropriate microscope.

Results of studies carried out in cultured breast cancer cells were published in the March 12, 2009, online edition of the journal Angewandte Chemie. "When the cancer cell expresses a protein marker that is complementary to Herceptin, then it binds to that marker," said senior author Dr. Joseph Irudayaraj, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue University. "We are advancing the technology to add other drugs that can be delivered by the probes. If we have a tumor, these probes should have the ability to latch on to it. The probe could carry drugs to target, treat as well as reveal cancer cells."

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