Abstract 4474: Protein-photosensitizer nanoparticles for the treatment of cancer

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Photodynamic therapy is a treatment that uses photosensitizer drugs to produce reactive oxidative species that kill cells when exposed to light of a specific wavelength. Our research project focuses on the development of protein nanoparticles as delivery systems for photosensitizers in cancer treatments, with the objective to overcome the lack of target specificity resulting in inappropriate drug retention by non-target tissues. The main goal is to produce nanoparticles that selectively accumulate in the target tissue due to their size, are effectively internalized into the cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis and disintegrate in the reducing environment of the cell, resulting in the activation of the drug. The synthesis method has been optimized to obtain nanoparticles of the desired size that disintegrate rapidly in the intracellular space. The photosensitizer is covalently bound to prevent non-specific release, and folate has been immobilized on the nanoparticle surface. The reversible activation of the drug was confirmed by fluorescence experiments and the therapeutic efficiency of the system was evaluated in HeLa cells. The system dark toxicity and phototoxicity was evaluated in vitro, as well as the internalization, the intracellular localization, and the mechanism of cell death. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Marimar Benitez, Anna M. Molina, Kai Griebenow. Protein-photosensitizer nanoparticles for the treatment of cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4474. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4474