Gemcitabine and Chlorotoxin Conjugated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Glioblastoma Therapy.

ABSTRACT: Many small-molecule anti-cancer drugs have short blood half-lives and toxicity issues due to non-specificity. Nanotechnology has shown great promise in addressing these issues. Here, we report the development of an anti-cancer drug gemcitabine-conjugated iron oxide nanoparticle for glioblastoma therapy. A glioblastoma targeting peptide, chlorotoxin, was attached after drug conjugation. The nanoparticle has a small size (~32 nm) and uniform size distribution (PDI ? 0.1), and is stable in biological medium. The nanoparticle effectively enter cancer cells without losing potency compared to free drug. Significantly, the nanoparticle showed a prolonged blood half-life and the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier in wild type mice.

SUBMITTER: Mu Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4727823 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature