This work introduces an innovative new method to transport gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) toward specific organs using as transporter the M13 filamentous phage. The aim is to improve the radiotherapy efficiency by injecting gold nanoparticles in the tumor tissues in order to increase the effective atomic number and, consequently, to produce higher locally deposited doses. The biocompatible Au-NPs can be bonded to the phage surface for their transport in the biological fluids and tissues. M13 phages can be prepared to arrive in specific tissues and organs depending on their biochemical preparation and functionalization. Evidence about the real attachment of spherical Au-NPs, 10 nm in diameter, to the M13 phages is obtained using different microscopies. Other analyses have been also performed to evaluate the number of gold nanoparticles that can be transported by M13 phages inside the organism. Our results on the study of the spherical Au-NP size distribution, deduced by AFM, EFM, and TEM analyses, have indicated that in average, 2 couples of Au-NPs are attached to each phage. Moreover, the size of the NPs ranges between 10 and 30 nm, demonstrating a little aggregation of the nanoparticles, which remain usefully sized to be vehicled with the blood flux towards specific organs.

中文翻译：

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M13 噬菌体向疾病组织转运金纳米粒子作为放射治疗应用的靶向程序的研究

这项工作引入了一种创新的新方法，使用 M13 丝状噬菌体作为转运蛋白，将金纳米粒子 (Au-NPs) 输送到特定器官。目的是通过在肿瘤组织中注射金纳米粒子来提高放疗效率，以增加有效原子序数，从而产生更高的局部沉积剂量。生物相容性 Au-NPs 可以结合到噬菌体表面，以便它们在生物体液和组织中运输。M13 噬菌体可以根据它们的生化制备和功能化准备到达特定的组织和器官。使用不同的显微镜获得了关于直径为 10 nm 的球形 Au-NP 与 M13 噬菌体的真实附着的证据。还进行了其他分析以评估可以由生物体内的 M13 噬菌体运输的金纳米粒子的数量。我们通过 AFM、EFM 和 TEM 分析推导出的球形 Au-NP 尺寸分布研究结果表明，平均而言，每个噬菌体上附着 2 对 Au-NP。此外，纳米颗粒的大小在 10 到 30 nm 之间，表明纳米颗粒有少量聚集，其大小仍然有效，可以随血液流向特定器官。