In vitro binding kinetics study of gold nanoparticles functionalized with 68Ga-DOTA conjugated peptides

In this study we tested functionalized AuNPs as an improved drug delivery tool in pancreatic and colon cancer cell lines AR42J and HT-29, using radioimmunoassay method. Ga-68 radiolabeled DOTA-Tyr(3)-octreotide, DOTA-NaI(3)-octreotide and DOTA-NT peptides were linked on nanoparticles surface, aiming to increase the peptide density at the tumor site and thus interaction probability, resulting in higher photon signal of Ga-68 radioisotope used in positron emission tomography. In vitro ligand-receptor binding evaluation of the radiolabeled compound has showed increased retention of the positron emitter radionuclide Ga-68 in the presence of the gold nanoparticles.