Viral Nanoparticles: Intravital Imaging of Human Prostate Cancer Using Viral Nanoparticles Targeted to Gastrin‐Releasing Peptide Receptors (Small 12/2011)

The cover image shows a live image of a blood vessel trifurcation, whose endothelial cells have been targeted with fluorescent viral nanoparticles (VNPs) based on the naturally biocompatible cowpea mosaic virus. Intravital imaging can be employed to visualize multiple features simultaneously, including the endothelial cell nuclei (blue), the luminal surface of the endothelium (green), and the VNPs (red). To create molecular imaging agents that target prostate cancer, VNPs are decorated with bombesin peptides, polyethylene glycol (PEG), and near infrared fluorescent dyes. Tumor homing is observed using human prostate tumor xenografts on the chicken chorioallantoic membrane model using intravital imaging. These findings highlight the utility of this VNP platform for the development of molecular targeted imaging agents. For more information, please read the Full Paper “Intravital Imaging of Human Prostate Cancer using Viral Nanoparticles Targeted to Gastrin-Releasing Peptide Receptors” by J. D. Lewis and co-workers, beginning on page 1664.