Title: Transferring Biomarker into Molecular Probe: Melanin Nanoparticle as a Naturally Active Platform for Multimodality Imaging

Abstract

Developing multifunctional and easily prepared nanoplatforms with integrated different modalities is highly challenging for molecular imaging. Here, we report the successful transfer of an important molecular target, melanin, into a novel multimodality imaging nanoplatform. Melanin is abundantly expressed in melanotic melanomas and thus has been actively studied as a target for melanoma imaging. In our work, the multifunctional biopolymer nanoplatform based on ultrasmall (<10 nm) water-soluble melanin nanoparticle (MNP) was developed and showed unique photoacoustic property and natural binding ability with metal ions (for example, ⁶⁴Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺). Therefore, MNP can serve not only as a photoacoustic contrast agent, but also as a nanoplatform for positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Traditional passive nanoplatforms require complicated and time-consuming processes for prebuilding reporting moieties or chemical modifications using active groups to integrate different contrast properties into one entity. In comparison, utilizing functional biomarker melanin can greatly simplify the building process. We further conjugated α_vβ₃ integrins, cyclic c(RGDfC) peptide, to MNPs to allow for U87MG tumor accumulation due to its targeting property combined with the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. As a result, the multimodal properties of MNPs demonstrate the high potential of endogenous materials with multifunctions as nanoplatformsmore » for molecular theranostics and clinical translation.« less

Authors:

Fan, Quli ^[1]; Cheng, Kai ^[2]; Hu, Xiang ^[2]; Ma, Xiaowei ^[2]; Zhang, Ruiping ^[2]; Yang, Min ^[2]; Lu, Xiaomei ^[3]; Xing, Lei ^[4]; Huang, Wei ^[3]; Gambhir, Sanjiv Sam ^[2]; Cheng, Zhen ^[2]

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, Department of Radiology and Bio-X Program, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-5484, United States, Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics & Information Displays and Institute of Advanced Materials, Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing 210046, China
2. Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, Department of Radiology and Bio-X Program, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-5484, United States
3. Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics & Information Displays and Institute of Advanced Materials, Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing 210046, China
4. Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States

Publication Date:

Thu Oct 16 00:00:00 EDT 2014

Research Org.:

Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

OSTI Identifier:

1162348

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1345806

Grant/Contract Number:  

SC0008397

Resource Type:

Published Article

Journal Name:

Journal of the American Chemical Society

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Name: Journal of the American Chemical Society Journal Volume: 136 Journal Issue: 43; Journal ID: ISSN 0002-7863

Publisher:

American Chemical Society

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; 60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES