Biocompatible PEGylated gold nanorods as colored contrast agents for targeted in vivo cancer applications.
In this contribution, we report the use of a PEGylated gold nanorods formulation as a colored dye for tumor labeling in vivo. We have demonstrated that the nanorod-targeted tumor site can be easily differentiated from the background tissues by the 'naked eye' without the need of sophisticated imaging instruments. In addition to tumor labeling, we have also performed in vivo toxicity and biodistribution studies of PEGylated gold nanorods in vivo by using BALB/c mice as the model. In vivo toxicity studies indicated no mortality or adverse effects or weight changes in BALB/c mice treated with PEGylated gold nanorods. This finding will provide useful guidelines in the future development of diagnostic probes for cancer diagnosis, optically guided tumor surgery, and lymph node mapping applications.
Kopwitthaya
Atcha
A
Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260-4200, USA.
Yong
Ken-Tye
KT
Hu
Rui
R
Roy
Indrajit
I
Ding
Hong
H
Vathy
Lisa A
LA
Bergey
Earl J
EJ
Prasad
Paras N
PN
D000818:Animals; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry
D003287:Contrast Media; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D006046:Gold