Towards Cancer Nanoradiopharmaceuticals-Radioisotope Nanocarrier System for Prostate Cancer Theranostics Based on Radiation-Synthesized Polymer Nanogels

• Published in: Cancers Vol. 15; no. 23; p. 5646
• Main Authors: Rurarz, Beata Paulina, Urbanek, Kinga Anna, Karczmarczyk, Urszula, Raczkowska, Joanna, Habrowska-Górczyńska, Dominika Ewa, Kozieł, Marta Justyna, Kowalska, Karolina, Kadłubowski, Sławomir, Sawicka, Agnieszka, Maurin, Michał, Piastowska-Ciesielska, Agnieszka Wanda, Ulański, Piotr
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 29.11.2023
• Subjects: Acrylic acid; Amino acids; Bombesin; Breast cancer; Cancer; Care and treatment; Castration; Cell cycle; Cytotoxicity; Design; Development and progression; Gastrin; Gastrin-releasing peptide; gastrin-releasing peptide receptor; Ligands; Lung cancer; Malignancy; nanocarriers; nanogels; Nanoparticles; nanoradiopharmaceuticals; Nanotechnology; Nuclear medicine; Peptides; Polymer industry; Polymers; Precision medicine; Prostate cancer; Radiation; Radiation therapy; Radioisotopes; Scientific equipment and supplies industry; Statistical analysis; Tumors; Poland; United Kingdom; United States; Massachusetts; Germany; prostate cancer; nanogels; radiation synthesis; gastrin-releasing peptide receptor; nanocarriers; poly(acrylic acid); nanoradiopharmaceuticals; preclinical study; bombesin
• ISSN: 2072-6694; 2072-6694
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers15235646

Despite the tremendous development of oncology, prostate cancer remains a debilitating malignancy. One of the most promising approaches to addressing this issue is to exploit the advancements of nanomedicine in combination with well-established nuclear medicine and radiotherapy. Following this idea, we have developed a radioisotope nanocarrier platform of electron-beam-synthesized nanogels based on poly(acrylic acid). We have developed a functionalization protocol, showing the very high (>97%) efficiency of the conjugation in targeting a ligand-bombesin derivative. This engineered peptide can bind gastrin-releasing peptide receptors overexpressed in prostate cancer cells; moreover, it bears a radioisotope-chelating moiety. Our nanoplatform exhibits very promising performance in vitro; the radiolabeled nanocarriers maintained high radiochemical purity of >90% in both the labeling buffer and human serum for up to 14 days. The application of the targeted nanocarrier allowed also effective and specific uptake in PC-3 prostate cancer cells, up to almost 30% after 4 h, which is a statistically significant improvement in comparison to carrier-free radiolabeled peptides. Although our system requires further studies for more promising results in vivo, our study represents a vital advancement in radionanomedicine-one of many steps that will lead to effective therapy for castration-resistant prostate cancer.