Targeted nanoparticles as immunostimulatory agents

Dr Bala Ramesh (primary)
Surgery and Interventional Science
UCL
Ivan P. Parkin (secondary)
Department of Chemistry
UCL

Abstract

Nanoparticles are often designed for simultaneous imaging and delivery of treatment, as they are combinable with agents targeted against biomarker-expressing cells. However, the interplay between nanoparticle components themselves and immune cells is largely unexplored. This is crucial, as recruiting the immune system would affect imaging and treatment delivery.

We manufactured imageable superparamagnetic iron-silver oxide NPs, which we will coat with cancer-targeting agents (e.g. calreticulin). Both iron and calreticulin are pro-phagocytotic.

We will investigate how NPs stimulate innate immunity (monocytes, lymphocytes) and elicit death pathways in multi-cell cultures (2D, 3D) and in vivo cancer models, and delineate nanoparticle-based immunomodulation.


References

1. D. O. Scanlon, C.W.Dunnill…I. P. Parkin et al., Band Alignment of Rutile and Anatase TiO2. Nature Materials, 2013, 12, 798-801
2. S Perni, C Piccirillo, J. Pratten, P. Prokopovich, W. Chrzanowski, M. Wilson and I. P. Parkin. The Antimicrobial Properties of Light-Activated Polymers Containing Methylene Blue and Gold Nanoparticles. Biomaterials, 2009, 30, 89-93.
3. Emmanouil Giorgakis,Bala Ramesh, et al., Demonstration of Calreticulin Expression in Hamster Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma with the Use of Fluorescent Gold Quantum Dots. Anticancer Res 2016, Mar;36(3):861-7
4. Ramesh BS et al., Detection of Cell Surface Calreticulin as a Potential Cancer Biomarker Using Near-Infrared Emitting Gold Nanoclusters. Nanotech 2016 27(28):285101. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/27/28/285101.
5. Lopez-Davila V et al., Efficacy of DOPE/DC-cholesterol liposomes and GCPQ micelles as AZD6244 nanocarriers in a 3D colorectal cancer in vitro model. Nanomedicine 2016 11(4), 331-44, doi: 10.2217/nnm.15.206.


BBSRC Area
Genes, development and STEM* approaches to biology
Area of Biology
BiotechnologyChemical Biology
Techniques & Approaches
BiochemistryBiophysicsChemistryEngineeringMicroscopy / ElectrophysiologyMolecular Biology