In Vivo Examination of Folic Acid-Conjugated Gold-Silica Nanohybrids as Contrast Agents for Localized Tumor Diagnosis and Biodistribution

Enhanced biocompatibility of nanosized contrast agent with high radiodensity and specific biodistribution is an important parameter for localized tumor imaging and organ safety. Various nanoparticles, especially gold nanorods (GNRs), have been applied for tumor diagnosis. However, their toxicity, nonspecific biodistribution, and easy aggregation are critical issues in cancer medicine. To avoid these issues, encapsulation of the GNRs in the core of nanoscopic mesoporous silica (MS) under ambient conditions, yielding multifunctional nanomaterials for cancer nanomedicine, is a recent and active development. Interestingly, GNR embedded MS nanohybrid (GNR-MS), though a promising material in nanomedicine, is rarely examined for tumor diagnosis, in vivo toxicity, organ safety, contrast ability, and excretion. Herein, we report a systematic in vivo examination of folic acid functionalized GNR-MS (GNR-MS-FA) for localized 4T1 breast tumor diagnosis, organ safety, and excretion using a one-time dose administration....