Synthesis and characterization of theranostic poly(HPMA)-c(RGDyK)-DOTA- ⁶⁴Cu copolymer targeting tumor angiogenesis: Tumor localization visualized by positron emission tomography

Poly(HPMA)-c(RGDyK)-DOTA-⁶⁴Cu copolymers were synthesized and characterized for tumor localization in vivo as a theranostic scaffold for cancer imaging and anticancer drug delivery targeting tumor angiogenesis. Tumor localization of the poly(HPMA)-c(RGDyK)-DOTA-⁶⁴Cu copolymers was visualized in mice bearing human prostate cancer xenografts by positron emission tomography (PET) using a microPET scanner. PET quantitative analysis demonstrated that tumor ⁶⁴Cu radioactivity (2.75 ± 0.34%ID/g) in tumor-bearing mice 3 hours following intravenous injection of the poly(HPMA)-c(RGDyK)-DOTA-⁶⁴Cu copolymers was significantly higher than the tumor ⁶⁴Cu radioactivity (1.29 ± 0.26%ID/g) in tumor-bearing mice injected with the nontargeted poly(HPMA)-DOTA-⁶⁴Cu copolymers (p = .004). The poly(HPMA)-c(RGDyK)-DOTA-⁶⁴Cu copolymers hold potential as a theranostic scaffold for cancer imaging and radiochemotherapy of prostate cancer targeting tumor angiogenesis by noninvasive tracking with PET.