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T1-Enhanced MRI-visible nanoclusters for imaging-guided drug delivery
1Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA. ybao@eng.ua.edu.
Nanoscale
|August 9, 2017
Summary
Ultrasmall iron oxide nanoparticles were clustered using bovine serum albumin, extending circulation time for enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast and enabling potential imaging-guided drug delivery.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Ultrasmall iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are T1 contrast agents for MRI.
- Their small size causes rapid renal clearance, limiting in vivo applications.
- Previous encapsulation methods often degrade T1 performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for clustering SPIONs to prolong circulation time.
- To maintain the T1 contrast properties of SPIONs after clustering.
- To evaluate the potential for imaging-guided drug delivery.
Main Methods:
- Crosslinking ultrasmall iron oxide nanoparticles with bovine serum albumin.
- Characterization of nanocluster properties and T1 relaxivity.
- In vivo evaluation in a breast tumor model for MRI contrast.
- Assessment of drug encapsulation capabilities.
Main Results:
- Nanoclusters maintained the T1 performance of individual SPIONs.
- Blood circulation time increased from 15 minutes to over 2 hours.
- Enhanced MRI contrast at tumor sites persisted for over 24 hours.
- Demonstrated potential for encapsulating model drug molecules.
Conclusions:
- Bovine serum albumin crosslinking is an effective strategy for creating T1 MRI contrast agent nanoclusters.
- This approach overcomes the limitation of short circulation times for SPIONs.
- The developed nanoclusters show promise for advanced applications in theranostics and imaging-guided drug delivery.
