Multimodal imaging for a theranostic approach in a murine model of B-cell lymphoma with engineered nanoparticles

Nanoparticles (NPs) are a promising tool for in vivo multimodality imaging and theranostic applications. The B-lymphoma neoplastic cells express a clone-specific immunoglobulin surface receptor (Ig-BCR). The peptide A20-36 (pA20-36) selectively binds to the Ig-BCR of A20 lymphoma cells. We demonstrated the ability of core-shell chitosan-hyaluronic acid-NPs decorated with pA20-36 to specifically target A20 cells and reduce the tumor burden in a murine xenograft model. We demonstrated the ability of NPs loaded with fluorescent and paramagnetic tracers to act as multimodal imaging contrast agents and hence as a non-toxic, highly specific theranostic system.222