Abstract
BackgroundIron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) are a promising nanoplatform for contrast-enhanced MRI. Recently, magnetic particle imaging (MPI) was introduced as a new imaging modality, which is able to directly visualize magnetic particles and could serve as a more sensitive and quantitative alternative to MRI. However, MPI requires magnetic particles with specific magnetic properties for optimal use. Current commercially available iron oxide formulations perform suboptimal in MPI, which is triggering research into optimized synthesis strategies. Most synthesis procedures aim at size control of iron oxide nanoparticles rather than control over the magnetic properties. In this study, we report on the synthesis, characterization and application of a novel ION platform for sensitive MPI and MRI.Methods and ResultsIONs were synthesized using a thermal-decomposition method and subsequently phase-transferred by encapsulation into lipidic micelles (ION-Micelles). Next, the material and magnetic properties of the ION-Micelles were analyzed. Most notably, vibrating sample magnetometry measurements showed that the effective magnetic core size of the IONs is 16 nm. In addition, magnetic particle spectrometry (MPS) measurements were performed. MPS is essentially zero-dimensional MPI and therefore allows to probe the potential of iron oxide formulations for MPI. ION-Micelles induced up to 200 times higher signal in MPS measurements than commercially available iron oxide formulations (Endorem, Resovist and Sinerem) and thus likely allow for significantly more sensitive MPI. In addition, the potential of the ION-Micelle platform for molecular MPI and MRI was showcased by MPS and MRI measurements of fibrin-binding peptide functionalized ION-Micelles (FibPep-ION-Micelles) bound to blood clots.ConclusionsThe presented data underlines the potential of the ION-Micelle nanoplatform for sensitive (molecular) MPI and warrants further investigation of the FibPep-ION-Micelle platform for in vivo, non-invasive imaging of fibrin in preclinical disease models of thrombus-related pathologies and atherosclerosis.
Highlights
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the western world with a still increasing prevalence due to the aging society
The presented data underlines the potential of the Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs)-Micelle nanoplatform for sensitive magnetic particle imaging (MPI) and warrants further investigation of the fibrin-binding peptide (FibPep)-ION-Micelle platform for in vivo, non-invasive imaging of fibrin in preclinical disease models of thrombus-related pathologies and atherosclerosis
We have presented ION-Micelles as a novel nanoplatform, consisting of 25 nm sized iron oxide nanocrystals encapsulated in lipidic micelles, for sensitive application in MPI and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Summary
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the western world with a still increasing prevalence due to the aging society. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) have been investigated extensively as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during the past few decades [1,2,3,4,5]. Referred to as negative contrast agents, IONs predominantly generate signal voids in MR images due to their high transversal relaxivity. They generally display good biocompatibility profiles, lack non-endogenous elements (unlike Gd3+-based MR contrast agents), contain a high payload per nanoparticle and can be functionalized with binding molecules, such as antibodies and peptides, which are typically linked covalently to their surface. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) are a promising nanoplatform for contrast-enhanced MRI. We report on the synthesis, characterization and application of a novel ION platform for sensitive MPI and MRI
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