Nanoscale Au@SiO2‑drug/VEGF as an in vivo probe for osteosarcoma diagnosis and therapy

Abstract

Osteosarcoma is a common primary bone malig‑ nancy, with a 5‑year survival rate of only 20‑30% in patients undergoing surgical treatment. Thus, it is important to identify novel methods for diagnosing and treating osteosarcoma, which was the aim of the present study. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was used as the tumor‑targeting protein to synthesize a multifunctional core‑shell nanostructure, Au@SiO2‑drug/VEGF, in which the drug can be indocyanine green (ICG; as an optical tracer) or doxorubicin (DOX; as a chemotherapeutic agent). With VEGF as the osteosar‑ coma‑targeting protein, Au exhibited optimal photothermal transformation performance, while SiO2 served as the carrier for the drug. Au@SiO2‑ICG/VEGF nanoparticles (NPs) were evaluated for imaging and for the monitoring of drug accu‑ mulation in a tumor region in mice. Once the optimal drug accumulation was achieved, combined treatment of osteosar‑ coma (chemotherapy and photothermal therapy) was assessed. In the perioperative period associated with minimal invasive embolization of osteosarcoma, photothermal therapy and chemotherapy were applied for osteosarcoma diagnosis using Au@SiO2‑DOX/VEGF NPs. Taken together, the results of the present study provide a promising strategy for tumor detection prior to surgical treatment to improve the survival outcome of patients with osteosarcoma.