title: Imaging of single human carcinoma cells in vitro using a clinical whole-body magnetic resonance scanner at 3.0 T.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to examine whether single human carcinoma cells labeled with iron oxide nanoparticles could be detected by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging on a clinical 3-T scanner using a surface coil only. WiDr human colon carcinoma cells were loaded with two kinds of iron oxide nanoparticles differing by coating and size: aminosilan-coated (MagForce) and carboxy-dextran-coated particles (Resovist). The latter were preferred by the colon carcinoma cell line used here and taken up much faster (12 h) than the smaller carboxydextran-coated Resovist (48 h). Labeled single carcinoma cells, distributed in an agarose gel in a monodisperse layer as controlled by light microscopy, became detectable as punctuate signal extinctions when using a small circularly polarized surface coil in conjunction with a T(2)*-weighted GE sequence at 3 T. The threshold for the detectability of labeled colon carcinoma cells ranged at a load of 4-5 mug iron/10(6) cells. Obviating the need for special hardware additions, this study opens a new lane for single-cell tracking on clinical 3-T MR scanners amenable to patient studies.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Strahlenheilkunde, CVK, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Germany. jens.pinkernelle@charite.de
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pinkernelle
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Teichgräber
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lehmkuhl
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ricke
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scholz
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bruhn
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D003287:Contrast Media; D003911:Dextrans; D052203:Ferrosoferric Oxide; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007501:Iron; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D010087:Oxides; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D003911:Dextrans; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D010087:Oxides; D007501:Iron; C065507:ferumoxides; D052203:Ferrosoferric Oxide