Targeting Cancer Gene Therapy with Magnetic Nanoparticles

Charles Li, Linda Li, and Andrew C. Keates 1 Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215 Received: March 16, 2012; Accepted: April 25, 2012; Published: May 2, 2012; Keywords: magnetic targeting, magnetic nanoparticles, xenograft tumors models Correspondence: Charles Li, email: // // Abstract Recent advances in cancer genomics have opened up unlimited potential for treating cancer by directly targeting culprit genes. However, novel delivery methods are needed in order for this potential to be translated into clinically viable treatments for patients. Magnetic nanoparticle technology offers the potential to achieve selective and efficient delivery of therapeutic genes by using external magnetic fields, and also allows simultaneous imaging to monitor the delivery in vivo. Compared to conventional gene delivery strategies, this technique has been shown to significantly increase gene delivery to human xenograft tumors models, as well as various internal organs (e.g. liver, kidney) and the central nervous system. Magnetic nanoparticle technology, therefore, has the potential to turn the challenge of gene therapy in vivo into a new frontier for cancer treatment.