Evaluation of multifunctional targeted gold nanoparticles on X-ray attenuation in nasopharyngeal cancer cells by X- ray imaging

Introduction: Head-and-neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide with the number of cases consistently increasing in developing countries. Successful development of effective, safe and cost effective nanoprobes for head-and-neck cancer targeting imaging is a big challenge. This study is aimed to develop cysteamine-folate conjugated gold nanoparticles (F-Cys-AuNPs) as a new contrast agent for targeted X-ray computed tomography imaging (CT) of head-and-neck cancer cells. In the other hand, this study is aimed to evaluation of effect of incubation times of multifunctional nanoparticles on cancer cells by CT. Materials and Methods: The formed multifunctional F-Cys-AuNPs were characterized via different techniques. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was performed to investigate morphology and size of the GNPs. The concentrations of GNPs in μg/ml were measured by the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The cytocompatibility of the F-Cys-AuNPs were assessed by MTT and colony assays. Targeted ability of F-Cys-AuNPs was evaluated in head-and-neck cancer in different incubation times. Results: F-Cys-AuNPs nanoprobes with an Au core size of ~15 nm exhibited good biocompatibility, and could target actively the cancer cells. Our results indicated that a greater mass concentration in all the nanoparticles and increasing incubation times lead to greater X-ray attenuation and totally in clinic lead to payload the delivery of a larger mass in the site of interest, therefore, the contrast will be enhanced. Conclusion: This data can be also considered for the application of gold nanostructures in radiation dose enhancement where nanoparticles with high X-ray attenuation are applied. The X-ray attenuation and the ease of the surface functionalization, make targeted GNPs promising multifunctional probes for simultaneous imaging and drug or gene delivery applications.