Detectability of Her2 positive tumors using monoclonal antibody conjugated iron oxide nanoparticles in MRI

Detecting an imaging signal from a small number of cells is vital when a disease needs to be diagnosed in an early stage of development. Molecular and genetic information from cancer cell types provide a guide for specific imaging based on gene expression and their activities on the cell membrane. Various physical and biological parameters affect the capability of an imaging system to provide an efficient procedure for biomarker imaging. Iron oxide based magnetic nanoparticles conjugated to breast cancer monoclonal antibody (Her2) were used as a specific contrast agent for detection of the tumor cells in nude mice models. All processes for the nanoparticle synthesis, antibody development, and conjugation strategies were designed and evaluated in the current work. The final engineered product was found to be without precipitate containing 20 microg antibody/mg magnetic nanoparticles at 10 mg Fe/ml solution. This contrast agent has a high affinity for the BT474 breast cancer cells. MRI images of nude mice bearing tumor cells confirm this specific biomarker based imaging protocol.