Viral Protein Coat-Based Nanoparticle Delivery System Targets Breast Cancer Cells

The engineered virus-like nanoparticles were then covalently conjugated to a breast cancer recognized ligand, LXY30 and an amine-coupled near-infrared fluorescence dye.

The viral nanoparticles were evaluated for ability to bind and enter a breast cancer cell line and for tumor targeting in vivo to breast cancer tissue in mice. Results published in the February 1, 2016, issue of the journal Nanomedicine revealed that the engineered virus-like nanoparticle not only targeted cancer cells, but also failed to interact with native hepatitis E virus antibodies due to epitope disruption at the antibody-binding site.

This study demonstrated that chemical conjugation with target ligand was capable of eliciting uptake of nanoparticles specifically into breast cancer cells. In vivo and ex vivo imaging confirmed the specific uptake of these nanoparticles by mouse breast tumors. A novel feature of these viral-based nanoparticles is that they were able to conjugate synthetic macromolecules and non-proteinogenic amino acids without compromising particle integrity. In addition, the preserved interior surface of the nanocapsid enabled the encapsulation of negatively charged payloads such as microRNA.

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