Radioactive polymeric nanoparticles for biomedical application

Abstract

Nowadays, emerging radiolabeled nanosystems are revolutionizing medicine in terms of diagnostics, treatment, and theranostics. These radionuclides include polymeric nanoparticles (NPs), liposomal carriers, dendrimers, magnetic iron oxide NPs, silica NPs, carbon nanotubes, and inorganic metal-based nanoformulations. Between these nano-platforms, polymeric NPs have gained attention in the biomedical field due to their excellent properties, such as their surface to mass ratio, quantum properties, biodegradability, low toxicity, and ability to absorb and carry other molecules. In addition, NPs are capable of carrying high payloads of radionuclides which can be used for diagnostic, treatment, and theranostics depending on the radioactive material linked. The radiolabeling process of nanoparticles can be performed by direct or indirect labeling process. In both cases, the most appropriate must be selected in order to keep the targeting properties as preserved as possible. In addition, radionuclide therapy has the advantage of delivering a highly concentrated absorbed dose to the targeted tissue while sparing the surrounding healthy tissues. Said another way, radioactive polymeric NPs represent a promising prospect in the treatment and diagnostics of cardiovascular diseases such as cardiac ischemia, infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, and other type of cancer cells or tumors.

Nanomicelles of Radium Dichloride [223Ra]RaCl2 Co-Loaded with Radioactive Gold [198Au]Au Nanoparticles for Targeted Alpha–Beta Radionuclide Therapy of Osteosarcoma

“…Hence, these findings are very promising. Radionuclide therapy has the advantage of delivering a concentrated dose to target tumor tissues, while preserving the surrounding healthy tissues, unlike the other current cancer therapies [ 19 , 39 , 67 , 71 , 72 ]. For the first time, the simultaneous ability of alpha and beta radiations to kill cancer cells has been demonstrated, using a low radioactive dose and obtaining high efficacy.…”

“…Therefore, the need to modernize antitumor therapies has led to nanotechnology aiming to develop a more effective, safe, and efficient therapy. In this sense, radioactive nanoparticles have gained attention, due to their physical-chemical characteristics, biocompatibility, low toxicity, bioconjugation, and few side effects for healthy cells [ 67 , 68 , 69 ]. Although the literature states that alpha therapy is superior to beta therapy [ 1 ], there is a total absence of combined alpha and beta therapy for tumor treatment.…”

Recent Advances in Nanoplatforms for the Treatment of Osteosarcoma

“…Polymeric NPs are a new type of nanomaterial that have attracted increasing attention in cancer diagnosis and treatment because they can be modified by chemotherapeutic drugs, antibodies, or nucleic acid ligands, and they can recognize cancer markers in cancer cell membranes or inside cells ( 43 ). They can be used to target the transport of drugs or nucleic acids during chemotherapy or gene therapy.…”

State of the Art in Gold Nanoparticle Synthesisation via Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid and Its Characterisation for Molecular Imaging: A Review

“…In addition, Jahangirian et al emphasised that nanoparticles within the range of 50–100 nm with a slightly negative charge can penetrate the membrane of cancer via systemic systems [ 46 ]. The study showed that 20 nm gold nanoparticles have been conjugated to different cellular targeting peptides and are able to penetrate biological membranes to the nucleus of targeted cancer [ 1 , 47 ].…”