Dendrimers are spherical polymer nanoparticles that have shown promise as targeted anticancer drug delivery vehicles. Iron oxide nanoparticles have already demonstrated the ability to image tumors and metastatic lesions.
Now, researchers at the University of Michigan have combined the two, producing a layered nanoscale construct that targets and images tumors in animal models of human cancer.
Reporting its work in the journal Advanced Materials, a team of investigators led by James Baker, Jr., M.D., who heads 1 of 12 NCI-funded Cancer Nanotechnology Platform Partnerships, created its nanoparticle construct with the aim of targeting iron oxide nanoparticles to tumors. Previous attempts to add targeting molecules directly to iron oxide nanoparticles have had limited success because the resulting nanoparticles were not stable in the bloodstream and were removed quickly from circulation by immune system cells.