title: Cellular interaction of folic acid conjugated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and its use as contrast agent for targeted magnetic imaging of tumor cells.
abstract: The purpose of the study was to develop tumor specific, water dispersible superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and evaluate their efficacy as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We have developed SPIONs capped with citric acid/2-bromo-2-methylpropionic acid which are compact, water dispersible, biocompatible having narrow range of size dispersity (8-10 nm), and relatively high T₂ relaxivity (R₂ = 222L · mmol⁻¹ · sec⁻¹). The targeting efficacy of unconjugated and folic acid-conjugated SPIONs (FA-SPIONS) was evaluated in a folic acid receptor overexpressing and negative tumor cell lines. Folic acid receptor-positive cells incubated with FA-SPIONs showed much higher intracellular iron content without any cytotoxicity. Ultrastructurally, SPIONs were seen as clustered inside the various stages of endocytic pathways without damaging cellular organelles and possible mechanism for their entry is via receptor mediated endocytosis. In vitro MRI studies on tumor cells showed better T₂-weighted images in FA-SPIONs. These findings indicate that FA-SPIONs possess high colloidal stability with excellent sensitivity of imaging and can be a useful MRI contrast agent for the detection of cancer.
authors: Center for Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016, India.
authors: Manoj
authors: M
authors: Kumar
authors: Gurpal
authors: G
authors: Singh
authors: Vikas
authors: V
authors: Arora
authors: Sujeet
authors: S
authors: Mewar
authors: Uma
authors: U
authors: Sharma
authors: N R
authors: NR
authors: Jagannathan
authors: Sameer
authors: S
authors: Sapra
authors: Amit K
authors: AK
authors: Dinda
authors: Surender
authors: S
authors: Kharbanda
authors: Harpal
authors: H
authors: Singh
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D004355:Drug Stability; D058973:Folate Receptors, GPI-Anchored / Q000378:metabolism; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D058973:Folate Receptors, GPI-Anchored; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D005492:Folic Acid