The development of targeting nanosystems for the treatment of glioblastoma and neuroblastoma tumours

Abstract

Chlorotoxin (CTX) peptide selectively targets glioblastoma multiforme (GB) and neuroblastoma (NB) and has excellent blood-brain barrier permeability. Therefore, CTX is a promising targeting molecule for nanoparticle (NP) based diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Bimetallic gold-platinum nanoparticles (AuPtNPs) have recently attracted great attention for anti-cancer and catalysis applications due to the synergistic effects of combined metal atoms which enhance NP properties when compared to their monometallic NP counterparts. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop gold NPs (AuNPs) and AuPtNPs, both conjugated to CTX for treatment in GB and NB cancer cells in vitro.