Tissue targeting

1. A method of targeting a therapeutic or imaging agent to a tumor tissue of a patient, the method comprising (a) identifying a patient with a tumor tissue, wherein the patient is in need of administration of a therapeutic or imaging agent to treat or image the tumor; (b) providing a conjugate of the therapeutic or imaging agent and a polysaccharide preparation; and (c) administering the conjugate to the patient, wherein the polysaccharide preparation targets the conjugate to the tumor tissue, and wherein the polysaccharide preparation has the following characteristics:

a weight average chain molecular weight between 3,500 and 8,000 Da;

anti-Xa activity and anti-IIa activity each less than 50 IU/mg; and

greater than 5% and less than 50% glycol split uronic acid residues;

and wherein the polysaccharide preparation comprises polysaccharides of the Formula I:

[U w —H x,y,z ] m ˜[U G —H x,y,z ] n   (I)

wherein each occurrence of U indicates a uronic acid residue and each occurrence of H indicates a hexosamine residue;

wherein m and n are integers such that

m=4-16, and

n=1-4;

each of w, x, y and z can independently be the same or different for each occurrence of [U w —H x,y,z ] and each of x, y and z can independently be the same or different for each occurrence of [U G —H x,y,z ], wherein

w=-2OS or -2OH;

x=-NS or -NAc;

y=-3OS or -3OH;

z=-6OS or -6OH; and

wherein the symbol ˜ indicates that the units marked m and n are distributed along the polysaccharide chain and are not necessarily in sequence to thereby target the agent to the tumor tissue.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the agent is selected from a radioactive agent, a fluorescent agent, a cytotoxic agent, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, a proteasome inhibitor, a protease inhibitor, an anti-angiogenic agent, an anti-metastatic agent, a steroid, a biologic immunomodulator, a monoclonal antibody, an antibody fragment, an aptamer, an siRNA, an antisense molecule, a fusion protein, a cytokine, a cytokine receptor, a bronchodialator, a statin, an anti-inflammatory agent, a microtubule inhibitor, a topoisomerase inhibitor, an antimetabolite, a protein synthesis and degradation inhibitor, a mitotic inhibitor, an alkylating agent, a platinating agent, an inhibitor of nucleic acid synthesis, a histone deacetylase and DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, a nitrogen mustard, a nitrosourea, an ethylenimine, an alkyl sulfonate, a triazene, a folate analog, a nucleoside analog, a ribnucleotide reductase inhibitor, a vinca alkaloid, a taxane, an epothilone, an intercalating agent, a signal transduction inhibitor, an apoptosis inducer, a cytokine, a chemokine, and a vaccine.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the agent is selected from the group consisting of: cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, dacarbazine, methotrexate, fluorouracil, gemcitabine, capecitabine, hydroxyurea, topotecan, irinotecan, azacytidine, vorinostat, ixabepilone, bortezomib, taxanes, cytochalasin B, gramicidin D, ethidium bromide, emetine, mitomycin, etoposide, tenoposide, vincristine, vinblastine, vinorelbine, colchicin, anthracyclines daunorubicin, dihydroxy anthracin dione, mitoxantrone, mithramycin, actinomycin D, adriamycin, 1-dehydrotestosterone, glucocorticoid, procaine, tetracaine, lidocaine, propranolol, puromycin, ricin, Ilmaytansinoids, Gefitinib, Erlotinib, Lapatinib, Sorafenib, Sunitinib, Imatinib, Dasatinib, Nilotinib, temsirolimus, everolimus, rapamycin, Trastuzumab, Cetuximab, Panitumumab, Bevacizumab, Rituximab, and Tositumomab.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tumor is a solid tumor.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tumor is a primary cancer site or a metastasis site.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising one or more of the following steps: biopsing the tumor tissue, imaging the tumor tissue, and evaluating the effect of the administration on the tumor tissue.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conjugate is administered intravenously, subcutaneously, intra-muscularly, intra-peritoneally, or orally.

8. A method of treating a subject, the method comprising: (a) identifying a subject who has a tumor, and (b) administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition comprising a conjugate of an anti-tumor agent and a polysaccharide preparation; and (c) administering the conjugate to the patient, wherein the polysaccharide preparation has the following characteristics: has the following characteristics:

a weight average chain molecular weight between 3,500 and 8,000 Da;

anti-Xa activity and anti-IIa activity each less than 50 IU/mg; and

greater than 5% and less than 50% glycol split uronic acid residues;

and wherein the polysaccharide preparation comprises polysaccharides of the Formula I:

[U w —H x,y,z ] m ˜[U G —H x,y,z ] n   (I)

wherein each occurrence of U indicates a uronic acid residue and each occurrence of H indicates a hexosamine residue;

wherein m and n are integers such that m =4-16, and n =1-4;

each of w, x, y and z can independently be the same or different for each occurrence of [U w —H x,y,z ] and each of x, y and z can independently be the same or different for each occurrence of [U w —H x,y,z ], wherein

w =-2OS or -2OH;

x =-NS or -NAc;

y =-3OS or -3OH;

z =-6OS or -6OH;

and

wherein the symbol ˜ indicates that the units marked m and n are distributed along the polysaccharide chain and are not necessarily in sequence.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the anti-tumor agent is selected from a radioactive agent, a cytotoxic agent, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, a proteasome inhibitor, a protease inhibitor, an anti-angiogenic agent, an anti-metastatic agent, a steroid, a biologic immunomodulator, a monoclonal antibody, an antibody fragment, an aptamer, an siRNA, an antisense molecule, a fusion protein, a cytokine, a cytokine receptor, a bronchodialator, a statin, an anti-inflammatory agent, a microtubule inhibitor, a topoisomerase inhibitor, an antimetabolite, a protein synthesis and degradation inhibitor, a mitotic inhibitor, an alkylating agent, a platinating agent, an inhibitor of nucleic acid synthesis, a histone deacetylase and DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, a nitrogen mustard, a nitrosourea, an ethylenimine, an alkyl sulfonate, a triazene, a folate analog, a nucleoside analog, a ribnucleotide reductase inhibitor, a vinca alkaloid, a taxane, an epothilone, an intercalating agent, a signal transduction inhibitor, an apoptosis inducer, a cytokine, a chemokine, and a vaccine.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the anti-tumor agent is selected from the group consisting of: cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, dacarbazine, methotrexate, fluorouracil, gemcitabine, capecitabine, hydroxyurea, topotecan, irinotecan, azacytidine, vorinostat, ixabepilone, bortezomib, taxanes, cytochalasin B, gramicidin D, ethidium bromide, emetine, mitomycin, etoposide, tenoposide, vincristine, vinblastine, vinorelbine, colchicin, anthracyclines daunorubicin, dihydroxy anthracin dione, mitoxantrone, mithramycin, actinomycin D, adriamycin, 1-dehydrotestosterone, glucocorticoid, procaine, tetracaine, lidocaine, propranolol, puromycin, ricin, and maytansinoids, Gefitinib, Erlotinib, Lapatinib, Sorafenib, Sunitinib, Imatinib, Dasatinib, Nilotinib, temsirolimus, everolimus, rapamycin, Trastuzumab, Cetuximab, Panitumumab, Bevacizumab, Rituximab, and Tositumomab.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the tumor is a solid tumor.

12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising one or more of the following steps: biopsing the tumor tissue, imaging the tumor tissue, and evaluating the effect of the administration on the tumor tissue.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the conjugate is administered intravenously.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the polysaccharide preparation has anti-Xa activity and anti-IIa activity each less than 20 IU/mg.

15. The method of claim 8 , wherein the polysaccharide preparation has anti-IIa activity of 1 IU/mg or less.

16. The method of claim 8 , wherein the polysaccharide preparation has anti-Xa activity of less than 10 IU/mg.

17. The method of claim 8 , wherein the polysaccharide preparation has less than 30% glycol split uronic acid residues.

18. The method of claim 8 , wherein the polysaccharide chains of the polysaccharide preparation each have greater than 40% U 2S H NS,6S disaccharide residues.

19. The method of claim 8 , wherein the polysaccharide preparation has a degree of desulfation less than 40%.

20. The method of claim 8 , wherein the polysaccharide chains of the polysaccharide preparation each have no more than 3 glycol split uronic acid residues (U G ).

21. The method of claim 8 , wherein the polysaccharide chains of the polysaccharide preparation have a 2,5-anhydromannitol residue at the reducing end.

22. The method of claim 8 , wherein the polysaccharide chains of the polysaccharide preparation have a uronic acid at the non-reducing end.

23. The method of claim 8 , wherein the polysaccharide chains of the polysaccharide preparation have a glycol split uronic acid at the non-reducing end.

24. The method of claim 8 , wherein n is 1-3.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tumor is a sarcoma or carcinoma.

26. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tumor is a carcinoma of the head, neck, pharynx, thyroid, lung, breast, lymph, gastrointestinal system, stomach, liver, pancreas, small intestine, colon and rectum, anal canal, genitals, genitourinary tract, bladder, central nervous system (CNS), neural cells, glial cells or skin; or the tumor is an oral, esophageal, renal, urothelial, ovarian, uterine, cervical, endometrial, prostate or testicular carcinoma.

27. The method of claim 8 , wherein the tumor is a sarcoma or carcinoma.

28. The method of claim 8 , wherein the tumor is a carcinoma of the head, neck, pharynx, thyroid, lung, breast, lymph, gastrointestinal system, stomach, liver, pancreas, small intestine, colon and rectum, anal canal, genitals, genitourinary tract, bladder, central nervous system (CNS), neural cells, glial cells or skin; or the tumor is an oral, esophageal, renal, urothelial, ovarian, uterine, cervical, endometrial, prostate or testicular carcinoma.

29. The method of claim 3 , wherein the agent is a taxane.

30. The method of claim 29 , wherein the taxane is paclitaxel or docetaxel.

31. The method of claim 8 , wherein the agent is a taxane.

32. The method of claim 31 , wherein the taxane is paclitaxel or docetaxel.