Research

Ovarian cancer related mortality is the highest among gynecologic cancers. Hence, a major challenge is the early diagnosis and effective targeted treatment. Multiple carcinomas including breast, ovarian, colon, lung and stomach cancer, overexpress the hyaluronic acid (HA) receptor, CD44. Overexpression of CD44 contributes to key processes including tumor invasion, metastasis, recurrence, and chemoresistance. We devised targeted nanoparticles for combined diagnostics and targeted delivery of chemotherapeutics to ovarian cancer cells. The nanoparticles are made of natural biocompatible and biodegradable body components, and are formed by self-assembly of Maillard reaction conjugates of HA and bovine serum albumin (BSA).