Multifucntional Nanoparticles for Detection and Treatment of Tumor Metastasis

Nanotechnology is opening new fields in oncology research by generating new paradigms in cancer detection and effective therapy. However, the challenges encountered for translating nanoparticle research into

Nanotechnology is opening new fields in oncology research by generating new paradigms in cancer detection and effective therapy. However, the challenges encountered for translating nanoparticle research into clinical applications are well recognized. These include identifying suitable biomarkers for targeting, the availabihty of high affinity targeting molecules for engineering tumor targeted nanoparticles, difficulty in delivering a sufficient amount of nanoparticles in vivo, and the biocompatibility and toxicity of the nanoparticles. To address these issues, we have chosen the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor （uPAR）, which is a cellular receptor highly expressed in invasive and metastatic human tumor tissues, as a target to deliver nanoparticles specifically into tumors. In comparison with several other cell receptors currently being studied for tumor targeting, appealing features of uPAR include： （1） it is upregulated in a high percentage of most human tumor tissues of varying types, especially in invasive edge of the tumor and tumor metastasis;