Peptidic nanoparticles for cancer therapy and diagnosis

摘要

A challenging topic in cancer research is to create drug system that can deliver in a specific and non-cytotoxic manner a therapeutic compound. Usually, tumor targeting requires very specific compounds. Currently, peptide analogues like somatostatin, neurotensin, or bombesin are used to target G-coupled receptors, which are over-expressed on tumor cells. We have recently designed a novel type of nanoparticles with regular icosahedral symmetry and a diameter of about 16 nm, which self-assemble from single polypeptide chains. Here we propose an innovative drug targeting and delivery system based on such nanoparticles functionalized with somatostatin or bombesin as targeting units. Moreover, these nanoparticles can be radiolabeled with Technetium-99m or other radionuclides for diagnosis and treatment of cancer.