Synthesis and characterization of sericin-based magnetic nanoparticles for MR imaging application - An in vivo study

In the present study, sericin modified magnetic nanoparticles (SMNPs) were prepared using sericin obtained from silk cocoons and iron nanoparticles prepared using goat blood. SMNPs had an average hydrodynamic diameter of 34.5 nm. The nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electron microscope (TEM), dynamic light scattering and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). SMNPs proved their non-hemolytic behaviour when treated with red blood cells (RBCs) isolated from human blood. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis of various concentrations of SMNPs proved the feasibility of using them as T2-weighted contrast agent. MRI results showed a dark signal intensity at the tumor site in melanoma tumor-bearing mice after injecting them with nanoparticles. SMNPs did not induce any toxicity when administered to BALB/c mice. Our results indicate that SMNPs can be used as a potential contrast agent for MRI applications with excellent biocompatibility and biosafety profile.