Particulate Science and Technology, Vol.34, No.5, 616-621, 2016
Ex-vivo model of colon cancer in normothermic conditions: Applications in nanomedicine
Colorectal cancer is one of the most accessible experimental models for the study of neoplasia, being widely used in experimental nanomedicine. Although in-vitro and in-vivo models are available and commonly used in this field, the experimental results cannot accurately predict the clinical efficiency of the tested nanobioconjugate. Ex-vivo models are particularly important in research, providing the most similar conditions to natural ones. Currently, there are few such models, existing ones being done under hypothermia, this resulting in modification of cellular metabolism. Taking this in account, we considered important to test an ex-vivo experimental colon cancer model, experiment conducted under normothermia, whose feasibility has been demonstrated previously by our team. In the present study, we underscored the usefulness that such an experimental model may have in nanomedicine, by demonstrating a positive gold nanoparticles accumulation in tumor cells by passive targeting, while maintaining cell viability for a sufficient period of time.