Cetuximab-conjugated magneto-fluorescent silica nanoparticles for in vivo colon cancer targeting and imaging

Magneto-fluorescent silica nanoparticles were conjugated with cetuximab for the targeting and imaging of colon cancer In this study cetuximab-conjugated magneto-fluorescent nanoparticles (MFSN-Ctx) could specifically target colon cancer cells that expressed EGFR on their cell membranes and specific fluorescence was detected MFSN-Ctx produced significant MRI signal changes in a human colon cancer xenograft mouse model Intravenous injection of MFSN-Ctx resulted in faster uptake as compared to intraperitoneal injection indicating that MFSN-Ctx had different kinetic properties in tumors based on the method of injection The local concentration of MFSN-Ctx in a tumor was amplified by the use of an external magnetic field These results demonstrate the potential application of MFSN-Ctx for the detection of EGFR-expressing colon cancer using in vivo imaging approaches (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd All rights reserved