Internal medicine

Biocompatible material

Biotechnology

Nanotechnology

In vivo

Biology

Cancer

Cytotoxicity

Biomedical engineering

Apoptosis

Chemistry

Materials science

In vitro

Chemotherapy

Cisplatin

Daunorubicin

Doxorubicin

Drug delivery

Drug

Cancer research

Biochemistry

Medicine

Cancer cell

Pharmacology

Nature Communications

Since the discovery of metal nanoparticles (NPs) in the 1960s, unknown toxicity, cost and the ethical hurdles of research in humans have hindered the translation of these NPs to clinical use. In this work, we demonstrate that Pt NPs with protein coronas are generated in vivo in human blood when a patient is treated with cisplatin. These self-assembled Pt NPs form rapidly, accumulate in tumors, and remain in the body for an extended period of time. Additionally, the Pt NPs are safe for use in humans and can act as anti-cancer agents to inhibit chemotherapy-resistant tumor growth by consuming intracellular glutathione and activating apoptosis. The tumor inhibitory activity is greatly amplified when the Pt NPs are loaded in vitro with the chemotherapeutic drug, daunorubicin, and the formulation is effective even in daunorubicin-resistant models. These in vivo-generated metal NPs represent a biocompatible drug delivery platform for chemotherapy resistant tumor treatment.

Blood-triggered generation of platinum nanoparticle functions as an anti-cancer agent