Amelioration of Tumor Targeting and In Vivo Biodistribution of 99mTc-Methotrexate-Gold Nanoparticles (99mTc-Mex-AuNPs)

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) represent very attractive and promising drug delivery carriers due to their unique dimensions, adjustable surface functions, and controllable drug release. Therefore, AuNPs are used to overcome the limitations of conventional chemotherapy, for example methotrexate (Mex), one of the first-generation chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment, whose usefulness has been restricted due to drug resistance and dose-dependent side effects. In the present study, the AuNPs drug delivery system was synthesized and loaded with technetium-99 m radiolabeled Methotrexate (^99mTc-Mex) to produce new potential nanoradiopharmaceutical for tumor targeting and further imaging. The Methotrexate loaded gold nanoparticles (Mex-AuNPs) successfully prepared in small spherical particle size (20.3 nm), polydispersity index PDI (< 0.5) and a zeta potential (−17.6 mV) with loading efficiency% (93 ± 1.2%) of methotrexate at 30 min as an optimum stirring time and showed strong absorption peak for Mex-AuNPs at λ_max, 525 nm. The in vitro release profile of Mex-AuNPs showed high release percent of methotrexate at pH 5; the Q_0.5 h and Q_8h were 21.2 ± 1.5% and 92.9 ± 3.4%, respectively. The in vitro cytotoxicity was investigated at different concentrations (0.024–50 μl/100 μl) of Mex-AuNPs (1 mg/ml) against MCF-7 (Michigan Cancer Foundation-7) breast cancer cells by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay technique. Mex-AuNPs showed higher anticancer activity with low inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀ = 0.098 μl/100 μl) that was three times lower than the inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of methotrexate (IC₅₀ = 0.3 μl/100 μl). ^99mTc-Mex complex prepared by direct reduction method at maximum radiochemical yield (RCY)% ̴ 98.3 ± 1.09 % was loaded in AuNPs to form ^99mTc-Mex-AuNPs with loading efficiency% (93 ± 1.2 %) at 30 min of stirring time. ^99mTc-Mex-AuNPs showed convenient in vitro stability in mice serum up to 24 h with RCY% > 90 %. The preclinical biodistribution studies of ^99mTc-Mex-AuNPs were performed in 3 experimental groups A (intravenous (I.V.) injected normal mice), B and C (I.V. and intratumor (I.T.) injected tumor bearing mice, respectively). The ^99mTc-Mex-AuNPs achieved highest tumor uptake (93 ± 0.39 %ID/g) and highest Target/NonTarget (T/NT) ratio (58.1 ± 0.91) with high Tumor/Blood (T/B) ratio (25.8 ± 0.11) at 10 min post I.T. injection and retained high tumor uptake (79 ± 0.65 %ID/g) up to 60 min post I.T. injection before escaping into blood stream. Consequently, ^99mTc-Mex-AuNPs can be considered as new potential nanoradiopharmaceutical in tumor diagnosis.