Development of new diagnostic and therapeutic methods for pancreatic cancer patients using the gold capsids

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K16854
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 50020:Tumor diagnostics and therapeutics-related
• Research Institution: University of Tsukuba
• Principal Investigator: Hiromi Kurokawa 筑波大学, 藻類バイオマス・エネルギーシステム開発研究センター, 主任研究員 (30791496)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 金粒子 / ポルフィリン / 表面プラズモン現象 / がん特異的

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Cancer is the leading cause of death in Japan, and it is still a difficult disease to cure. Chemotherapy is one of the treatment methods. Many anticancer drugs have no cancer specific accumulation and have side effects in normal tissues. Radiation therapy also cannot prevent exposure to normal tissues, thus there is a need for more cancer selective treatment. In order to develop a cancer selective therapy, the applicant came up with the idea of porphyrin-modified gold nanoparticles (Au-HpD). Gold can generate heat and radicals when irradiated with specific wavelengths, which can damage tissues. Porphyrin have a cancer specific accumulation, and I thought that Au-HpD could be used to selectively damage cancer. In fact, Au-HpD was found to have cancer specific accumulation and injury effects.

Free Research Field

光生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

金はインプラント等として治療に使用されており、ポルフィリンも光線力学療法で使用されていることから、これらを組み合わせたAu-HpDの安全性は極めて高く、臨床応用可能だと考える。Au-HpDはがん特異的な治療が可能であること、さらに表面プラズモン現象を生じるための波長は870 nmと近赤外光であることから、深部がんに対しても応用できる可能性が高い。深部がんに対するがん選択的な治療法は限られており、本研究の有用性が動物レベルで確認できれば新規治療法になりうる。