Targeted delivery of anti-cancer agents to cancer cells is a mature line of investigation that has yet to realize its full potential. In this study we report on the development of a delivery platform with the future goal of merging two thus far parallel methods for selective elimination of cancer cells: targeted nanospheres and pretargeted radioimmunotherapy.
Several clinical trials have shown the promise of pretargeted radioimmunotherapy, which leverages the specificity of antibodies for targeted cell populations and delivers a localized dose of a biotinylated radionuclide that is most often administered following binding of a biotinylated antibody and streptavidin (StA) to the target cells. The work presented here describes the development of biotinylated nanospheres based on an ABA-type copolymer comprised of a tyrosine-derived oligomer as the B-block and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) A-blocks. The biotinylated nanospheres encapsulate paclitaxel (PTX) to the same extent as unbiotinylated nanospheres.
Journal of Controlled Release, Tenth International Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Symposium, Volume 171, Issue 3, 10 November 2013.
