A pretargeting nanoplatform for imaging and enhancing anti-inflammatory drug delivery

This work details a newly developed "sandwich" nanoplatform via neutravidin-biotin system for the detection and treatment of inflammation. First, biotinylated- and folate-conjugated optical imaging micelles targeted activated macrophages via folate/folate receptor interactions. Second, multivalent neutravidin proteins in an optimal concentration accumulated on the biotinylated macrophages. Finally, biotinylated anti-inflammatory drug-loaded micelles delivered drugs effectively at the inflammatory sites via a highly specific neutravidin-biotin affinity. Both in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that the "sandwich" pretargeting platform was able to diagnose inflammation by targeting activated macrophages as well as improve the therapeutic efficacy by amplifying the drug delivery to the inflamed tissue. The overall results support that our new pretargeting platform has the potential for inflammatory disease diagnosis and treatment.