Non-invasive sensitive brain tumor detection using dual-modality bioimaging nanoprobe

Advancements in nanotheranostics for glioma therapy

Gliomas are brain tumors mainly derived from glial cells that are difficult to treat and cause high mortality. Radiation, chemotherapy, and surgical excision are the conventional treatments for gliomas. Patients who have surgery or have undergone chemotherapy for glioma treatment have poor prognosis with tumor recurrence. In particular, for glioblastoma, the 5-year average survival rate is 4-7%, and the median survival is 12-18 months. A number of issues hinder effective treatment such as, poor surgical resection, tumor heterogeneity, insufficient drug penetration across the blood-brain barrier, multidrug resistance, and difficulties with drug specificity. Nanotheranostic-mediated drug delivery is becoming a well-researched consideration, and an efficient non-invasive method for delivering chemotherapeutic drugs to the target area. Theranostic nanomedicines, which incorporate therapeutic drugs and imaging agents for personalized therapies, can be used for preventing overdose of non-responders. Through the identification of massive and complicated information from next-generation sequencing, machine learning enables for precise prediction of therapeutic outcomes and post-treatment management for patients with cancer. This article gives a thorough overview of nanocarrier-mediated drug delivery with a brief introduction to drug delivery challenges. In addition, this assessment offers a current summary of preclinical and clinical research on nanomedicines for gliomas. In the future, nanotheranostics will provide personalized treatment for gliomas and other treatable cancers.

Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells and Epithelial Progenitor Cells: A Comprehensive Study

Technological advancement to enhance tumor cells (TC) has allowed discovery of various cellular bio-markers: cancer stem cells (CSC), circulating tumor cells (CTC), and endothelial progenitor cells (EPC). These are responsible for resistance, metastasis, and premetastatic conditions of cancer. Detection of CSC, CTC, and EPC assists in early diagnosis, recurrence prediction, and treatment efficacy. This review describes various methods to detect TC subpopulations such as in vivo assays (sphere-forming, serial dilution, and serial transplantation), in vitro assays (colony-forming cells, microsphere, side-population, surface antigen staining, aldehyde dehydrogenase activity, and Paul Karl Horan label-retaining cells, surface markers, nonenriched and enriched detection), reporter systems, and other analytical methods (flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy/spectroscopy, etc.). The detailed information on methods to detect CSC, CTC, and EPC in this review will assist investigators in successful prognosis, diagnosis, and cancer treatment with greater ease.

Optical recognition of constructs using hyperspectral imaging and detection (ORCHID)

Challenges to deep sample imaging have necessitated the development of special techniques such as spatially offset optical spectroscopy to collect signals that have travelled through several layers of tissue. However, these techniques provide only spectral information in one dimension (i.e., depth). Here, we describe a general and practical method, referred to as Optical Recognition of Constructs Using Hyperspectral Imaging and Detection (ORCHID). The sensing strategy integrates (1) the spatial offset detection concept by computationally binning 2D optical data associated with digital offsets based on selected radial pixel distances from the excitation source; (2) hyperspectral imaging using tunable filter; and (3) digital image binding and collation. ORCHID is a versatile modality that is designed to collect optical signals deep inside samples across three spatial (X, Y, Z) as well as spectral dimensions. The ORCHID method is applicable to various optical techniques that exhibit narrow-band structures, from Raman scattering to quantum dot luminescence. Samples containing surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active gold nanostar probes and quantum dots embedded in gel were used to show a proof of principle for the ORCHID concept. The resulting hyperspectral data cube is shown to spatially locate target emitting nanoparticle volumes and provide spectral information for in-depth 3D imaging.

Nanoplasmonics Enabling Cancer Diagnostics and Therapy

In this paper, we highlight several advances our laboratory has developed in the pursuit of cancer diagnostics and therapeutics by integrating plasmonics, photonics, and nanotechnology. We discuss the development and applications of plasmonics-active gold nanostar (GNS), a uniquely shaped nanoparticle with numerous branches that serve to greatly amplify the thermal generation at resonant wavelengths. GNS has also been successfully used in tumor imaging contexts from two-photon fluorescence to surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing and imaging. Finally, GNS has been coupled with immunotherapy applications to serve as an effective adjuvant to immune checkpoint inhibitors. This combination of GNS and immunotherapy, the so called synergistic immuno photo nanotherapy (SYMPHONY), has been shown to be effective at controlling long-lasting cancer immunity and metastatic tumors.

Methods for Radiolabelling Nanoparticles: PET Use (Part 2)

The use of radiolabelled nanoparticles (NPs) is a promising nuclear medicine tool for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Thanks to the heterogeneity of their material (organic or inorganic) and their unique physical and chemical characteristics, they are highly versatile for their use in several medical applications. In particular, they have shown interesting results as radiolabelled probes for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. The high variability of NP types and the possibility to use several isotopes in the radiolabelling process implies different radiolabelling methods that have been applied over the previous years. In this review, we compare and summarize the different methods for NP radiolabelling with the most frequently used PET isotopes.

Intravital optical imaging for immune cell tracking after photoimmunotherapy with plasmonic gold nanostars

Bladder cancer has been ranked as one of the most commonly occurring cancers in men and women with approximately half of the diagnoses being the late stage and/or metastatic diseases. We have developed a novel cancer treatment by combining gold nanostar-mediated photothermal therapy with checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy to treat bladder cancer. Experiment results with a murine animal model demonstrated that our developed photoimmunotherapy therapy is more efficacious than any individual studied treatment. In addition, we used intravital optical imaging with a dorsal skinfold window chamber animal model to study immune responses and immune cell accumulation in a distant tumor following our photoimmunotherapy. The mice used have the CX3CR1-GFP receptor on monocytes, natural killer cells, and dendritic cells allowing us to dynamically track their presence by fluorescence imaging. Our proof-of-principle study results showed that the photoimmunotherapy triggered anti-cancer immune responses to generate anti-cancer immune cells which accumulate in metastatic tumors. Our study results illustrate that intravital optical imaging is an efficient and versatile tool to investigate immune responses and mechanisms of photoimmunotherapy in future studies.

Gold nanostar‐based complexes applied for cancer theranostics

Cancer remains a major health problem that plagues human beings, calling widespread attention to develop novel theranostics to achieve sensitive diagnosis and efficient therapy. Multifunctional nanomedicine that can integrate diagnosis with treatment formulations has been emerging as a powerful strategy to overcome the current drawbacks in conventional clinical cancer treatments. Due to the good biocompatibility, easy surface modification, surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)/computed tomography (CT)/photoacoustic (PA) imaging properties, and exceptional photothermal performance of gold nanostars (AuNSs), various AuNS‐based complexes or nanohybrids including metal compound/AuNSs, SiO2/AuNSs, polymer/AuNSs, and dendrimer/AuNSs, and so forth have been developed, holding great blueprint in cancer theranostics. Herein, we concisely review the recent progresses in the intriguing design of AuNS‐based nanoplatforms, and their applications in bioimaging, therapy and imaging‐guided cancer treatment, and clarify the possible future perspectives for the design of AuNS‐facilitated cancer theranostics.

Bioresponsive Nanomaterials: Recent Advances in Cancer Multimodal Imaging and Imaging-Guided Therapy

Cancer is a serious health problem which increasingly causes morbidity and mortality worldwide. It causes abnormal and uncontrolled cell division. Traditional cancer treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and so on. These traditional therapies suffer from high toxicity and arouse safety concern in normal area and have difficulty in accurately targeting tumour. Recently, a variety of nanomaterials could be used for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Nanomaterials have several advantages, e.g., high concentration in tumour via targeting design, reduced toxicity in normal area and controlled drug release after various rational designs. They can combine with many types of biomaterials in order to improve biocompatibility. In this review, we outlined the latest research on the use of bioresponsive nanomaterials for various cancer imaging modalities (magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography and phototacoustic imaging) and imaging-guided therapy means (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy), followed by discussing the challenges and future perspectives of this bioresponsive nanomaterials in biomedicine.

Artificial Intelligence Algorithm-Based Analysis of Ultrasonic Imaging Features for Diagnosis of Pregnancy Complicated with Brain Tumor

This research was to explore the accuracy of ultrasonic diagnosis based on artificial intelligence algorithm in the diagnosis of pregnancy complicated with brain tumors. In this study, 18 patients with pregnancy complicated with brain tumor confirmed by pathology were selected as the research object. Ultrasound contrast based on artificial bee colony algorithm was performed and diagnosed by experienced clinicians. Ultrasonic image will be reconstructed by artificial bee colony algorithm to improve its image display ability. The pathological diagnosis will be handed over to the physiological pathology laboratory of the hospital for diagnosis. The doctor's ultrasonic diagnosis results were compared with the pathological diagnosis stage results of patients, and the results were analyzed by statistical analysis to evaluate its diagnostic value. The comparison results showed that the number and classification of benign tumors were the same, while in malignant tumors, the number diagnosis was the same, but there was one patient with diagnostic error in classification. One case of mixed glial neuron tumor was diagnosed as glial neuron tumor, and the diagnostic accuracy was 94.44% and the K value was 0.988. The diagnostic results of the two were in excellent agreement. The results show that, in the ultrasonic image diagnosis of patients with brain tumors during pregnancy based on artificial intelligence algorithm, most of them are benign and have obvious symptoms. Ultrasound has a good diagnostic accuracy and can be popularized in clinical diagnosis. The results can provide experimental data for the clinical application of ultrasonic image feature analysis based on artificial intelligence as the diagnosis of pregnancy complicated with brain tumors.

Gold Nanostars: A Novel Platform for Developing 211At-Labeled Agents for Targeted Alpha-Particle Therapy

Aim

To develop an innovative ²¹¹At nanoplatform with high radiolabeling efficiency and low in vivo deastatination for future targeted alpha-particle therapy (TAT) to treat cancer.

Methods

Star-shaped gold nanoparticles, gold nanostars (GNS), were used as the platform for ²¹¹At radiolabeling. Radiolabeling efficiency under different reaction conditions was tested. Uptake in the thyroid and stomach after systemic administration was used to evaluate the in vivo stability of ²¹¹At-labeled GNS. A subcutaneous U87MG human glioma xenograft murine model was used to preliminarily evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of ²¹¹At-labeled GNS after intratumoral administration.

Results

The efficiency of labeling GNS with ²¹¹At was almost 100% using a simple and rapid synthesis process that was completed in only 1 min. In vitro stability test in serum showed that more than 99% of the ²¹¹At activity remained on the GNS after 24 h incubation at 37°C. In vivo biodistribution results showed low uptake in the thyroid (0.44–0.64%ID) and stomach (0.21–0.49%ID) between 0.5 and 21 h after intravenous injection, thus indicating excellent in vivo stability of ²¹¹At-labeled GNS. The preliminary therapeutic efficacy study demonstrated that ²¹¹At labeled GNS substantially reduced tumor growth (P < 0.001; two-way ANOVA) after intratumoral administration.

Conclusion

The new ²¹¹At radiolabeling strategy based on GNS has the advantages of a simple process, high labeling efficiency, and minimal in vivo dissociation, making it an attractive potential platform for developing TAT agents that warrants further evaluation in future preclinical studies directed to evaluating prospects for clinical translation.

Plasmonic Gold Nanostar-Mediated Photothermal Immunotherapy

Cancer is among the leading cause of death around the world, causing close to 10 million deaths each year. Significant efforts have been devoted to developing novel technologies that can detect and treat cancer early and effectively to reduce cancer recurrences, treatment costs, and mortality. Gold nanoparticles (GNP) have been given particular attention for its use with photo-induced hyperthermia coupled with novel immunotherapy methods to provide a new platform for highly selective and less invasive cancer treatment. Among the various GNP platforms, gold nanostars (GNS) have a unique star-shaped geometric structure that allows superior light absorption and photothermal heating. This photothermal effect have also been found to amplify the anti-tumor immune response and can be exploited with adjuvant treatments using immune checkpoint inhibitors. This combination treatment known as Synergistic Immuno Photo Nanotherapy (SYMPHONY) has been shown to reverse tumor-mediated immunosuppression and has led to effective and long-lasting immunity against not only primary tumors but also cancer metastasis. This overview highlights the development and applications of GNS-mediated therapy developed in our laboratory for cancer treatment. This paper also presents recent results of experimental studies to illustrate the superior performance of GNS for photothermal treatment applications.

[11C]Methionine and [11C]PBR28 as PET Imaging Tracers to Differentiate Metastatic Tumor Recurrence or Radiation Necrosis

Purpose:

As stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and immunotherapy are increasingly used to treat brain metastases, incidence of radiation necrosis (RN) is consequently rising. Differentiating tumor regrowth (TR) from RN is vital in management but difficult to assess using MRI. We hypothesized that tumor methionine levels would be elevated given increased metabolism and high amino acid uptake, whereas RN would increase inflammation marked by upregulated translocator protein (PBR-TSPO), which can be quantified with specific PET tracers.

Procedures:

We performed a feasibility study to prospectively evaluate [¹¹C]methionine and [¹¹C]PBR28 using PET in 5 patients with 7 previously SRS-treated brain metastases demonstrating regrowth to differentiate TR from RN.

Results:

Sequential imaging with dual tracers was well-tolerated. [¹¹C]methionine was accurate for detecting pathologically confirmed TR in 7/7 lesions, whereas [¹¹C]PBR28 was only accurate in 3/7 lesions. Tumor PBR-TSPO expression was elevated in both melanoma and lung cancer cells, contributing to lack of specificity of [¹¹C]PBR28-PET.

Conclusion:

Sequential use of PET tracers is safe and effective. [¹¹C]Methionine was a reliable TR marker, but [¹¹C]PBR28 was not a reliable marker of RN. Studies are needed to determine the causes of post-radiation inflammation and identify specific markers of RN to improve diagnostic imaging.

Application of Nanomaterials in Biomedical Imaging and Cancer Therapy

Nanomaterials, such as nanoparticles, nanorods, nanosphere, nanoshells, and nanostars, are very commonly used in biomedical imaging and cancer therapy. They make excellent drug carriers, imaging contrast agents, photothermal agents, photoacoustic agents, and radiation dose enhancers, among other applications. Recent advances in nanotechnology have led to the use of nanomaterials in many areas of functional imaging, cancer therapy, and synergistic combinational platforms. This review will systematically explore various applications of nanomaterials in biomedical imaging and cancer therapy. The medical imaging modalities include magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, single photon emission computerized tomography, optical imaging, ultrasound, and photoacoustic imaging. Various cancer therapeutic methods will also be included, including photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. This review also covers theranostics, which use the same agent in diagnosis and therapy. This includes recent advances in multimodality imaging, image-guided therapy, and combination therapy. We found that the continuous advances of synthesis and design of novel nanomaterials will enhance the future development of medical imaging and cancer therapy. However, more resources should be available to examine side effects and cell toxicity when using nanomaterials in humans.

Plasmonic gold nanostar-mediated photothermal immunotherapy for brain tumor ablation and immunologic memory

Brain tumors present unique therapeutic challenges and they include glioblastoma (GBM) and metastases from cancers of other organs. Current treatment options are limited and include surgical resection, radiation therapy, laser interstitial thermal therapy and chemotherapy. Although much research has been done on the development of immune-based treatment platforms, only limited success has been demonstrated. Herein, we demonstrate a novel treatment of GBM through the use of plasmonic gold nanostars (GNS) as photothermal inducers for synergistic immuno photothermal nanotherapy (SYMPHONY), which combines treatments using gold nanostar and laser-induced photothermal therapy with checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. In the treatment of a murine flank tumor model with the CT-2A glioma cell line, SYMPHONY demonstrated the capability of producing long-term survivors that rejects rechallenge with cancer cells, heralding the successful emergence of immunologic memory. This study is the first to investigate the use of this novel therapy for the treatment of GBM in a murine model.