Abstract
Introduction: The development of new materials and tools for radiology is key to the implementation of this diagnostic technique in clinics. In this work, we evaluated the differential accumulation of peptide-functionalized GNRs in a transgenic animal model (APPswe/PSENd1E9) of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by computed tomography (CT) and measured the pharmacokinetic parameters and bioaccumulation of the nanosystem. Methods: The GNRs were functionalized with two peptides, Ang2 and D1, which conferred on them the properties of crossing the blood-brain barrier and binding to amyloid aggregates, respectively, thus making them a diagnostic tool with great potential for AD. The nanosystem was administered intravenously in APPswe/PSEN1dE9 model mice of 4-, 8-and 18-months of age, and the accumulation of gold nanoparticles was observed by computed tomography (CT). The gold accumulation and biodistribution were determined by atomic absorption. Results: Our findings indicated that 18-month-old animals treated with our nanosystem (GNR-D1/Ang2) displayed noticeable differences in CT signals compared to those treated with a control nanosystem (GNR-Ang2). However, no such distinctions were observed in younger animals. This suggests that our nanosystem holds the potential to effectively detect AD pathology. Discussion: These results support the future development of gold nanoparticle-based technology as a more effective and accessible alternative for the diagnosis of AD and represent a significant advance in the development of gold nanoparticle applications in disease diagnosis.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 8169-8185 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | International Journal of Nanomedicine |
Volume | 18 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2023 |
Keywords
- Alzheimer’s disease
- amyloid-beta
- Aβ
- computed tomography
- diagnostic
- gold nanorods
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Bioengineering
- Biomaterials
- Pharmaceutical Science
- Drug Discovery
- Organic Chemistry