Biofunctionalized gadolinium-containing prussian blue nanoparticles as multimodal molecular imaging agents

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Molecular Imaging

Background:

• Molecular imaging agents are crucial for disease diagnosis and therapy assessment, offering cellular and subcellular resolution.
• Gadolinium-containing Prussian blue nanoparticles (PBnPs) are explored for their potential as multimodal imaging agents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize, characterize, and demonstrate core-shell, biofunctionalized, gadolinium-containing Prussian blue nanoparticles as multimodal molecular imaging agents.
• To combine MRI and fluorescence imaging capabilities within a single nanoparticle platform.
• To achieve molecular specificity for targeted cellular detection.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of core-shell PBnPs with gadolinium ions in the Prussian blue lattice for MRI contrast.
• Biofunctionalization of the nanoparticle surface with fluorescently labeled avidin and biotinylated antibodies for fluorescence imaging and molecular targeting.
• In vitro demonstration using a mixed cell model (eosinophilic and squamous epithelial cells) to assess imaging specificity.

Main Results:

• The synthesized PBnPs exhibit high relaxivity, nearly nine times that of Magnevist, enhancing MRI contrast.
• The nanoparticles successfully combined MRI and fluorescence imaging modalities.
• Specific detection of eosinophilic cells, distinguishing them from squamous epithelial cells, was achieved through both fluorescence and MRI in vitro.

Conclusions:

• Biofunctionalized gadolinium-containing Prussian blue nanoparticles serve as effective multimodal molecular imaging agents.
• The high relaxivity and specific targeting capabilities suggest significant potential for in vivo applications.
• These nanoparticles represent a promising advancement in multimodal imaging for disease diagnosis and therapy assessment.