NANOPARTICLE COMPOSITION FOR USE IN TARGETING CANCER STEM CELLS AND METHOD FOR TREATMENT OF CANCER

摘要

There is disclosed a composition in the form of a nanoparticle. The nanoparticle composition has a diameter from 5 to 500 nanometers. The nanoparticle composition has i) a central core portion including magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles adapted to act as a heat source when subjected to a magnetic field and a chemotherapeutic agent configured to treat cancer tissues, ii)—a shell portion including a shell member encapsulating said core portion, and iii)—antibodies configured to target cancer stem cells and adhered to surface of said shell member. The chemotherapeutic agent is a heat shock protein inhibitor and is releasable on activation of the heat source due to the magnetic field, and the shell member is made of silica or a silica based material. Surface of the nanoparticle is modified with the antibodies capable of binding with a cluster of differentiation molecules on the cell surface of the target cancer stem cells, whereby by way of combination of specificity of the nanoparticle composition due to the antibody, thermo-therapeutic effect of the Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, and release of the heat shock protein inhibitor on site at the target cancer stem cells, inhibition of the target cancer stem cells is synergistically and additionally enhanced is increased.