Layer by layer controlled synthesis at room temperature of tri‐modal (MRI, fluorescence and CT) core/shell superparamagnetic IO/human serum albumin nanoparticles for diagnostic applications

Abstract

AbstractMagnetic nanoparticles (NPs) are drawing attention since few decades because of its tunable properties. It is well known that the degradation of plasma proteins like albumin in cancer cells is significantly faster than in normal cells. Hereby, we combined the advantages of human serum albumin (HSA) and iron oxide NPs (IO NPs) to prepare mono‐, bi‐ and tri‐modal IO/HSA core‐shell NPs for diagnostic applications, to promote the smooth and precise assessment of signals obtained from diagnostic machines. HSA is well known as a physiological carrier for many biomaterials (e.g., fatty acids, metal ions, amino acids, peptides, drugs, etc.). Mono‐modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) IO NPs were prepared via nucleation at room temperature of IO layers onto IO‐HSA nuclei. Mono‐modal IO/HSA NPs were produced by heating the IO NPs aqueous HSA dispersion to 80°C, followed by HSA precipitation via cooling to RT. Bi‐modal (MRI and fluorescence [FL]) IO/HSA NPs were prepared similarly, substituting the HSA for Cy7‐conjugated HSA. Tri‐modal (MRI, FL and computed tomography (CT) IO/HSA were prepared similarly, substituting the aqueous continuous phase for aqueous continuous phase containing iohexol (a water‐soluble CT contrast agent), thereby entrapping the iohexol within the precipitated HSA. Cytotoxicity tests in HCT116 (colon), MCF7 (breast) and A127 (glioblastoma) cells showed that the IO/HSA NPs are non‐toxic toward these cells. Moreover, these non‐cytotoxic NPs were incubated with HCT116 cells and tested against three different diagnostic tools (FL, MRI and CT). The calibration and signal assessment of the results showed almost identical intensities obtained from these diagnostic tools that could promote these NPs as the multi‐modal probe.