Multimodal Radiobioconjugates of Magnetic Nanoparticles Labeled with ⁴⁴Sc and ⁴⁷Sc for Theranostic Application

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Radiopharmaceutical Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment require targeted agents.
• Multimodal nanoparticles offer combined diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities.
• Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIO) are suitable platforms for drug delivery and imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize a multimodal radiopharmaceutical for prostate cancer.
• To utilize SPIO nanoparticles for targeted delivery of radionuclides and imaging agents.
• To evaluate the efficacy and targeting capabilities of the developed radiopharmaceutical.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of SPIO nanoparticles functionalized with PSMA-617 targeting molecule.
• Complexation with Scandium-44 (⁴⁴Sc) for PET imaging and Scandium-47 (⁴⁷Sc) for therapy.
• Characterization of nanoparticles using TEM, XPS, and magnetization measurements.
• In vitro evaluation of radiobioconjugate affinity and cytotoxicity on prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP and PC-3).
• Radiotoxicity studies on 3D spheroids.

Main Results:

• Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with uniform cubic shape (38-50 nm) were synthesized.
• Bioconjugates were successfully labeled with ⁴⁴Sc and ⁴⁷Sc with >97% yield.
• The radiobioconjugate demonstrated high affinity and cytotoxicity towards PSMA-positive LNCaP cells compared to PSMA-negative PC-3 cells.
• Significant radiotoxicity was observed in LNCaP 3D spheroids.
• Magnetic properties were retained for potential magnetically guided delivery.

Conclusions:

• A novel multimodal radiopharmaceutical based on SPIO nanoparticles was successfully synthesized for prostate cancer.
• The developed agent shows promising diagnostic and therapeutic potential due to its high targeting affinity and cytotoxicity.
• The inherent magnetic properties suggest applications in magnetically guided drug delivery systems.