Targeting cancer cells with biotin-dendrimer conjugates.

Star-burst dendrimers represent a superior carrier platform for targeted drug delivery. Partially acetylated generation 5 (G5) polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer was conjugated with the targeting moiety (biotin) and the imaging moiety (fluoresceinisothiocyanate, FITC), and the resulting dendrimer-biotin conjugate was characterized by (1)H NMR, UV-vis spectrum. As revealed by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy, the bifunctional conjugate (dendrimer-biotin-FITC) exhibited much higher cellular uptake into HeLa cells than the conjugate without biotin. The uptake was energy-dependent, dose-dependent, and could be effectively blocked by dendrimer-conjugated biotin. Our results indicated that the biocompatible biotin-dendrimer conjugate might be a promising nano-platform for cancer therapy and cancer diagnosis.