Multimodal silica nanoparticles are effective cancer-targeted probes in a model of human melanoma

Nanoparticle-based materials, such as drug delivery vehicles and diagnostic probes, currently under evaluation in oncology clinical trials are largely not tumor selective. To be clinically successful, the next generation of nanoparticle agents should be tumor selective, nontoxic, and exhibit favorable targeting and clearance profiles. Developing probes meeting these criteria is challenging, requiring comprehensive in vivo evaluations. Here, we describe our full characterization of an approximately 7-nm diameter multimodal silica nanoparticle, exhibiting what we believe to be a unique combination of structural, optical, and biological properties. This ultrasmall cancer-selective silica particle was recently…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: ECS-9876771, 9876771
• MS
  Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

  Award: P30 CA08748
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: P30 CA08748, CA08748, P50 CA86438, R24 CA83084