Orsinger G.V., Leung S.J., Knights S.S., Williams J.D., Romanowski M.
University of Arizona, US
Keywords: 5-fu, cancer, liposomes, plasmon resonance
With the ultimate goal of delivering therapeutic compounds selectively to cancerous or diseased tissues and cells, we have presented liposome-based plasmon resonant nanocapsules. The described biocompatible composite delivery vehicle enables encapsulation and selective release of therapeutic or contrast agents upon application of a light stimulus for applications in biomedical imaging, diagnostics, therapeutics and targeted drug delivery. The liposome’s lipid membrane allows for encapsulation of a small volume of soluble therapeutic or diagnostic compounds, while the surrounding plasmon resonant gold structure elicits rapid release of the liposomes’ contents when illuminated by laser light corresponding to the resonance band. We demonstrate a gold-coated plasmon resonant liposome drug delivery system enabling in vitro and in vivo drug delivery studies. We show that this system is compatible with encapsulation and release of anticancer drugs such as 5-fluorouracil. We also show that our drug delivery system can be used to study the pharmacological action of a drug in physiologically mimetic three-dimensional models of cancer.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 3, Nanotechnology 2012: Bio Sensors, Instruments, Medical, Environment and Energy (Volume 3)
Published: June 18, 2012
Pages: 134 - 137
Industry sectors: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing | Medical & Biotech
Topics: Biomaterials, Materials for Drug & Gene Delivery
ISBN: 978-1-4665-6276-9