This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The long-term objective of this project is to develop a novel method, photoimmunotherapy, combining biophotonics and nanotechnology, for treatment of metastatic tumors, using magnetic resonance thermometry (MRT) guidance for its selective photothermal interaction. The Pis have developed laser immunotherapy using a near-infrared laser, indocyanine green (ICG, a chemical dye), and glycated chitosan (GC, a polymer) for treatment of metastatic tumors. Recently, the Pis discovered that GC was an excellent surfactant for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), which can strongly absorb light of 980-nm wavelength, to which biological tissue is almost transparent. It is hypothesized that GC-SWNT, when administered to the target tissue and activated by laser light of appropriate wavelength, could induce selective photothermal and immunological reactions for treatment of metastatic tumors. Furthermore, nanotubes in the proposed photoimmunotherapy could also be used as carriers of other therapeutic drugs as well as imaging contrast agents. Therefore, photoimmunotherapy, combining nanotechnology could potentially become a multi-modality, imaging guided regimen for cancer treatment. We propose to achieve the following specific aims during this one-year collaborative project: 1. To determine the selective thermal effects of the laser-GC-SWNTcombination, using MRT; 2. To determine the in vivo effects of laser-GC-SWNT in the treatment ofmetastatic tumors, using animal models; 3. To determine the immunological effects induced by the laser-GC-SWNT treatment, using immunological assays. The successful completion of this project will pave the way for further research to develop photoimmunotherapy
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