title: Ultrasound-triggered BSA/SPION hybrid nanoclusters for liver-specific magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: Nanoclusters of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) are developed for liver-specific magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by a unique synthesis route. The process is efficient, environmentally benign, and straight forward within five minutes. The clustering effect is triggered in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) aqueous phase under ultrasonication condition. The hydrophobic SPION are densely self-assembled into BSA/SPION hybrid nanoclusters with a uniform size of ~86 nm. The as-prepared BSA/SPION hybrid nanoclusters are found to be biocompatible and stable. They exhibit high transverse relaxivity and longitudinal relaxivity in water (r(2) and r(1) values are 600.8 and 4.3 s(-1) per mM of Fe(3+), respectively). In vivo T(2)-weighted MRI shows excellent enhancement in liver with an imaging time-window up to 48 h. In vivo biodistribution study indicates a gradual excretion of the nanoclusters via hepatobiliary (HB) processing. No toxicity is observed in the in vivo and ex vivo experiments. The BSA/SPION hybrid nanoclusters present great potential in MRI as the liver-specific contrast agents (CAs).
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Biomedical Engineering & Nano Science, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200092, PR China. bingbozhang@tongji.edu.cn
authors.forename: Bingbo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Peihao
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Yuanpeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rui
authors.forename: Yanyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Donglu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D049329:Nanostructures; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000737:chemistry*; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014465:Ultrasonics
chemical_list: D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine