Gadonanotubes as magnetic nanolabels for stem cell detection

Stem cell-based therapies have emerged as a promising approach in regenerative medicine. In the development of such therapies, the demand for imaging technologies that permit the noninvasive monitoring of transplanted stem cells in vivo is growing. Here, we report the performance of gadolinium-containing carbon nanocapsules, or gadonanotubes (GNTs), as a new T₁-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) intracellular labeling agent for pig bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Without the use of a transfection agent, micromolar concentrations of GNTs can deliver up to 10⁹ Gd(3+) ions per cell without compromising cell viability, differentiation potential, proliferation pattern, and phenotype. Imaging 10 × 10⁶ GNT-labeled MSCs demonstrates a nearly two-fold reduction in T₁ relaxation time when compared to unlabeled MSCs at 1.5 T in a clinical MRI scanner, which easily permits the discrimination of GNT-labeled MSCs in a T₁-weighted MR image. It is anticipated that GNTs will allow in vivo tracking of GNT-labeled MSCs, as well as other mammalian cell types, by T₁-weighted imaging with greater efficacy than other current technologies now allow.