ERA NanoSci - Multifunctional Gold Nanoparticles for Gene Therapy

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A major obstacle in the use of many chemicals for diagnosis or treatment is the lack of tissue specificity. A tag for molecular imaging or a drug-carrying system would have to circulate in the blood stream undetected by the immune system and would have to recognize the desirable target and gives a detectable signal or delivers the drug in it. This NANOTRUCK project intends to develop an innovative kind of multifunctional gold nanoparticles loaded with fluorescent and tumoral markers, cell penetrating peptides and RNAi complementary to the proto-oncogene myc. This biofunctionalization will allow the interaction between NPs and biological systems, ranging from in vitro cultured human cells to in vivo animal models (primitive Hydra and complex vertebrate mouse). This new nanoplatform will allow the targeting and detection of tumor cells and also the study of cellular response against gene tumoral therapy, converting it in a potent tool for the emerging area of theragnostics.