Abstract
The search for high relaxivities and increased specificity continues to be central to the development of paramagnetic contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Ferritin, due to its unique surface properties, architecture, and biocompatibility, has emerged as a natural nanocage that can potentially help to reach both these goals. This review aims to highlight recent advances in the use of ferritin as a nanoplatform for the delivery of metal-based MRI contrast agents (containing Gd3+, Mn2+, or Fe2O3) alone or in combination with active molecules used for therapeutic purposes. The collected results unequivocally show that the use of ferritin for contrast agent delivery leads to more accurate imaging of cancer cells and a significantly improved targeted therapy.
Highlights
Specific delivery by naturally occurring macromolecules has been explored for a long time to improve the diagnostic potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents (CAs)
This review aims to discuss the peculiar role of an apoferritin cage for the specific delivery of MRI CAs but Inorganics 2019, 7, 33; doi:10.3390/inorganics7030033
Manganese(II) is a paramagnetic metal and may be considered a good candidate because it is an essential metal in biological systems, with efficient cellular storage/excretion candidate because it is an essential metal in biological systems, with efficient cellular routes for controlling its homeostasis
Summary
Specific delivery by naturally occurring macromolecules has been explored for a long time to improve the diagnostic potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents (CAs). Functions of ferritin are traditionally associated with intracellular iron storage, peptides, with either ferroxidase activity or iron nucleation ability, respectively These peptide chains recentare studies have demonstrated iron adelivery and transport [9].inInexternal particular, present in different ratios inferritin various ability organs for to form cage architecture of 12 nm studies have demonstrated. Without any modification of the protein belong to human scavenger receptor class A member 5 (SCARA5) [17] for L-ferritin and to murine cage, it can be exploited for the delivery of CAs in pathologies overexpressing these receptors [20]. Perturbations ferritin are as of anCAs important element in any of the protein cage,initcellular can be exploited foremerging the delivery in pathologies the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative and vascular diseases, inflammatory and breast, colon overexpressing these receptors [20] Cell-surface receptors for H- and L-ferritin subunits, respectively
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