Abstract 4559: RGD coated protein microspheres as a dual fluorescent and magnetomotive contrast agent for targeted cancer imaging with magnetomotive optical coherence tomography
Authors: Nguyen Freddy T. , John Renu , Chaney Eric J. , Dibbern Elizabeth M. , Suslick Kenneth S. , Boppart Stephen A. 
Published: February 2011

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a novel technology that has been developed for various clinical applications ranging from ophthalmology to oncology. OCT is analogous to ultrasound technology but with micron by using light waves instead of sound waves providing detailed morphological or structural information at the cellular level about the tissue specimen. Magneto-motive OCT (MM-OCT) is a recently developed modality of OCT in which a magnetic field is modulated on and off during imaging. With the development of this modality, exogeneous contrast agents are becoming more important to target markers that are expressed prior to morphological changes that structural OCT can only detect. Modified protein microspheres consisting of an oil core and a hydrophilic BSA protein shell are being presented as a multi-modal contrast agent vehicle. The protein microspheres are encapsulated with iron oxide in the oil core to provide the magnetic signal contrast and a near infrared dye to provide a fluorescence contrast. The outer surface is functionalized using a layer-by-layer adhesion process to attach RGD peptide sequences to target integrin receptors. Under MM-OCT, these agents have been detected above various levels of background tissue scattering demonstrating that these agents can provide added contrast to OCT through the magnetic signal. These agents were incubated with various cell lines with differing levels of alpha(v)beta(3) integrin receptor expression that were quantified using western blotting and fluorescent antibody immunohistochemical staining. The normal control cell line used was the CRL-4010. The breast cancer cell lines studied included CRL-2314, SK-BR-3, MCF-7, and 13762 MAT B III cells. These studies address the binding specificity and sensitivity of the RGD functionalized protein microspheres to the alpha(v)beta(3) integrin receptors. In addition, a quantitative analysis is being performed to correlate the relative levels of bound microspheres to the cells, measured through MM-OCT measurements and through their fluorescence signals of the microspheres, and the cell's alpha(v)beta(3) integrin receptor expression derived from the western blot experiments. Preliminary results indicate that these agents have a higher affinity to the cancer cells over the normal epithelial cells and are also internalized by the cells and could have to potential to become localized targeted drug delivery vehicles. In an NMU carcinogen induced rat animal model, the targeted protein microspheres were injected in-vivo. These preliminary results, using a multi-spectral dark box imaging system, demonstrate the localization of the microspheres to the vasculature surrounding the tumor. These microspheres are being presented as a novel contrast agent to a novel high resolution imaging modality targeted at cancer.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4559.