Nanotherapeutics in angiogenesis: synthesis and in vivo assessment of drug efficacy and biocompatibility in zebrafish embryos

Jinping Cheng1*, Yan-Juan Gu2*, Yajun Wang3, Shuk Han Cheng1, Wing-Tak Wong21Department of Biology and Chemistry, The City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, 2Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, 3Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Carbon nanotubes have shown broad potential in biomedical applications, given their unique mechanical, optical, and chemical properties. In this pilot study, carbon nanotubes have been explored as multimodal drug delivery vectors that facilitate antiangiogenic therapy in zebrafish embryos. Methods: Three different agents, ie, an antiangiogenic binding site (cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid), an antiangiogenic drug (thalidomide), and a tracking dye (rhodamine), were conjugated onto single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT). The biodistribution, efficacy, and biocompatibility of these triple functionalized SWCNT were tested in mammalian cells and validated in transparent zebrafish embryos. Results: Accumulation of SWCNT-associated nanoconjugates in blastoderm cells facilitated drug delivery applications. Mammalian cell xenograft assays demonstrated that these antiangiogenic SWCNT nanoconjugates specifically inhibited ectopic angiogenesis in the engrafted zebrafish embryos. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential of using SWCNT for generating efficient nanotherapeutics. Keywords: carbon nanotubes, drug delivery, antiangiogenic therap