The present invention provides compositions and methods for targeting cells for therapeutic and/or diagnostic purposes, e.g., delivery of therapeutic and/or diagnostic agents to a cell. Nanoparticles and polymers functionalized with capture molecules, reporter molecules, and/or therapeutic agents are provided for the treatment or prevention of disease, including neurological diseases associated with neuroinflammation, and cancer.

The present invention provides a hexa-lactoside-triazanonane triacetic acid (NOTA) derivative, a method for radiolabeling a hexa-lactoside positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agent for a liver receptor with Ga-68, and a hexa-lactoside PET imaging agent for a liver receptor. The hexa-lactoside-NOTA derivative is a conjugate of six chains of lactose with NOTA obtained by conjugating hexa-lactoside to a chelating agent p-thiocyanate-benzyl-triazanonane diacetic acid-glutamic acid in the presence of triethyl amine/dimethyl formamide as a solvent. The radiolabeling method comprises labeling with Ga-68 at room temperature. According to the present invention, the labeling effect is stable, the labeling efficiency of the labeled product is greater than 95%, the labeled product is highly stable and the radiochemical purity is still greater than 90% after 4 hours.

Disclosed herein is method for conjugating a metal chelating agent to a functionalized dextran by reacting a chelator with an aminated dextran backbone, where the chelator comprises a one, and only one, derivatized carboxylic acid group to form a chelator-dextran complex. In certain aspects, the dextran-chelator complex is substantially free of intra- or intermolecular crosslinking. In certain aspects, the functionalized dextran is an amine dextran, an alkynyl dextran, or a thiol dextran. In exemplary implementations, the functionalized dextran is an amine dextran. In further embodiments, one and only one carboxylic acid group on the chelating agent is derivatized as a N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) ester.

PAMAM dendrimer based CEST imaging agents, pharmaceutical compositions comprising the same and methods of uses thereof are disclosed.

Compounds comprising R-G-Cysteic Acid (i.e., R-G-NHCH(CH.sub.2SO.sub.3H)COOH or Arg-Gly-NHCH(CH.sub.2SO.sub.3H)COOH) and derivatives thereof, including pharmaceutically acceptable salts, hydrates, stereoisomers, multimers, cyclic forms, linear forms, drug-conjugates, pro-drugs and their derivatives. Also disclosed are methods for making and using such compounds including methods for inhibiting integrins including but not necessarily limited to .sub.5.sub.1-Integrin, .sub.v.sub.3-Integrin and .sub.v.sub.5-Integrin, inhibiting cellular adhesion to RGD binding sites, preventing or treating viral or other microbial infections, inhibiting angiogenesis in tumors, retinal tissue or other tissues or delivering other diagnostic or therapeutic agents to RGD binding sites in human or animal subjects.

This invention relates new radiopharmaceutical conjugates for use in improved methods of diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The radiopharmaceutical conjugate comprises, in sequence: a metabolite that targets tumour cells, bound to a chelating agent capable of containing a radionuclide, bound to a linker capable of binding with an EPR agent in vitro or in vivo; or a chelating agent capable of containing a radionuclide, bound to a metabolite that targets tumour cells, bound to a linker capable of binding with an EPR agent in vitro or in vivo. The radiopharmaceutical conjugates of the present invention provide active and passive targeted radio nuclide delivery systems that can help to improve the biodistribution and pharmacological toxicity of the radiopharmaceuticals used for the diagnosis and therapy of cancer.

Conjugates of topoisomerase I inhibitors linked to a macromolecule through a linkage that undergo beta elimination in situ in combination with one or more of an assessed defect in DNA damage response (DDR) in a subject bearing cancer, a cell cycle checkpoint inhibitor and/or a DDR inhibitor provides improved outcomes for cancer-bearing subjects.

Advantage is taken of the enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR effect) to shield normal tissue from exposure to combinations of chemotherapeutic agents. Imaging agents that exhibit the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect in solid tumors are useful in mimicking the behavior of chemotherapeutic or other drugs for treatment of said tumor conjugated to carriers of similar size and shape to the carriers of said imaging agents.

Salicylic acid-based polymeric CEST contrast agents targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen, pharmaceutical composition comprising the same and methods of use thereof are disclosed.

The present invention provides a method for selective delivery of a therapeutic or diagnostic agent to a targeted organ or tissue by implanting a biocompatible solid support in the patient being linked to a first binding agent, and administering a second binding agent to the patient linked to the therapeutic or diagnostic agent, such that the therapeutic or diagnostic agent accumulates at the targeted organ or tissue.