title: Biocompatible fluorescent nanoparticles for in vivo stem cell tracking.
abstract: Efficient application of stem cells to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases requires safe cell tracking to follow stem cell fate over time in the host environment after transplantation. In this work, for the first time, fluorescent and biocompatible methyl methacrylate (MMA)-based nanoparticles (fluoNPs) were synthesized through a free-radical co-polymerization process with a fluorescent macromonomer obtained by linking Rhodamine B and hydroxyethyl methacrylate. We demonstrate that the fluoNPs produced by polymerization of MMA-Rhodamine complexes (1) were efficient for the labeling and tracking of multipotent human amniotic fluid cells (hAFCs); (2) did not alter the main biological features of hAFCs (such as viability, cell growth and metabolic activity); (3) enabled us to determine the longitudinal bio-distribution of hAFCs in different brain areas after graft in the brain ventricles of healthy mice by a direct fluorescence-based technique. The reliability of our approach was furthermore confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging analyses, carried out by incubating hAFCs with both superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and fluoNPs. Our data suggest that these finely tunable and biocompatible fluoNPs can be exploited for the longitudinal tracking of stem cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cova
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bigini
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Diana
authors.forename: Leopoldo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sitia
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Ruggiero Maria
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Pesce
authors.forename: Rushd
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khalaf
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bossolasco
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ubezio
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lupi
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tortarolo
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Giardino
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Silani
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morbidelli
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salmona
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moscatelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D058948:Cell Tracking / Q000379:methods*; D004705:Endocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005453:Fluorescence; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D059008:Time-Lapse Imaging
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D015415:Biomarkers; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes