Affibody-based nanoprobes for HER2-expressing cell and tumor imaging

• Published in: Biomaterials Vol. 32; no. 8; pp. 2141 - 2148
• Main Authors: Gao, Jinhao, Chen, Kai, Miao, Zheng, Ren, Gang, Chen, Xiaoyuan, Gambhir, Sanjiv S., Cheng, Zhen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2011
• Subjects: Advanced Basic Science; Affibody; Animals; Bioconjugation; Cell Line, Tumor; Conjugates; cysteine; Dentistry; epidermal growth factor receptors; Female; HER2; Humans; image analysis; Imaging; in vivo studies; iron oxides; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry; Mice; Mice, Nude; Microscopy, Fluorescence - methods; Models, Molecular; Molecular imaging; Molecular Imaging - methods; Nanocomposites; Nanomaterials; nanoparticles; Nanoprobes; Nanostructure; neoplasm cells; neoplasms; Neoplasms - metabolism; Neoplasms - pathology; Polyethylene Glycols - chemistry; Quantum Dots; Receptor, ErbB-2 - genetics; Receptor, ErbB-2 - metabolism; Recombinant Fusion Proteins - genetics; Recombinant Fusion Proteins - metabolism; Surgical implants; Tissue Distribution; Tumors; Molecular imaging; Bioconjugation; Nanoprobes; HER2; Affibody
• ISSN: 0142-9612; 1878-5905; 1878-5905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2010.11.053

This article reports the affibody-based nanoprobes specifically target and image human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2)-expressing cells and tumors. The affibody molecules are a promising class of targeting ligands with simple, robust, and precise structure and high affinity. Using near-infrared (NIR) quantum dots (QDs) and iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles as two representative nanomaterials, we designed anti–HER2 affibody molecules with a N-terminus cysteine residue (Cysteine-ZHER2:342) and precisely conjugated with maleimide-functionalized nanoparticles to make nanoparticle-affibody conjugates. The in vitro and in vivo study showed the conjugates are highly specific to target and image HER2-expressing cells and tumors. This work indicated the nanoparticle-affibody conjugates may be excellent candidates as targeting probes for molecular imaging and diagnosis.