ERA NanoSci - Multifunctional Gold Nanoparticles for Gene Therapy

使用许多化学物质进行诊断或治疗的一个主要障碍是缺乏组织特异性。用于分子成像或药物携带系统的标签必须在未被免疫系统检测到的情况下在血液中循环，并必须识别所需的目标，并发出可检测的信号或在其中传递药物。该NANOTRUCK项目旨在开发一种创新的多功能金纳米颗粒，该纳米颗粒携带荧光和肿瘤标志物、细胞穿透肽和与原癌基因myc互补的RNAi。这种生物功能化将允许NPs与生物系统之间的相互作用，从体外培养的人类细胞到体内动物模型(原始九头蛇和复杂的脊椎动物小鼠)。这一新的纳米平台将允许靶向和检测肿瘤细胞，并研究细胞对基因肿瘤治疗的反应，将其转化为新出现的遗传学领域的有力工具。

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.