Volume 10, Issue 12 pp. 1636-1646
Full Article
Free Access

Cetuximab-conjugated nanodiamonds drug delivery system for enhanced targeting therapy and 3D Raman imaging

Dandan Li

Dandan Li

Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 PR China

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 PR China

Search for more papers by this author
Xin Chen

Xin Chen

Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 PR China

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 PR China

School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, 100191 PR China

Search for more papers by this author
Hong Wang

Hong Wang

School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, 100191 PR China

Search for more papers by this author
Jie Liu

Jie Liu

Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 PR China

Search for more papers by this author
Meiling Zheng

Meiling Zheng

Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 PR China

Search for more papers by this author
Yang Fu

Yang Fu

Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 PR China

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 PR China

Search for more papers by this author
Yuan Yu

Corresponding Author

Yuan Yu

Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 PR China

Search for more papers by this author
Jinfang Zhi

Corresponding Author

Jinfang Zhi

Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 PR China

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 21 June 2017
Citations: 33

Abstract

In this study, a multicomponent nanodiamonds (NDs)-based targeting drug delivery system, cetuximab-NDs-cisplatin bioconjugate, combining both specific targeting and enhanced therapeutic efficacy capabilities, is developed and characterized. The specific targeting ability of cetuximab-NDs-cisplatin system on human liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells is evaluated through epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) blocking experiments, since EGFR is over-expressed on HepG2 cell membrane. Besides, cytotoxic evaluation confirms that cetuximab-NDs-cisplatin system could significantly inhibit the growth of HepG2 cells, and the therapeutic activity of this system is proven to be better than that of both nonspecific NDs-cisplatin conjugate and specific EGF-NDs-cisplatin conjugate. Furthermore, a 3-dimensional (3D) Raman imaging technique is utilized to visualize the targeting efficacy and enhanced internalization of cetuximab-NDs-cisplatin system in HepG2 cells, using the NDs existing in the bioconjugate as Raman probes, based on the characteristic Raman signal of NDs at 1332 cm−1. These advantageous properties of cetuximab-NDs-cisplatin system propose a prospective imaging and treatment tool for further diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.