title: Polyetherimide-grafted Fe₃O₄@SiO2₂ nanoparticles as theranostic agents for simultaneous VEGF siRNA delivery and magnetic resonance cell imaging.
abstract: Engineering a safe and high-efficiency delivery system for efficient RNA interference is critical for successful gene therapy. In this study, we designed a novel nanocarrier system of polyethyleneimine (PEI)-modified Fe3O4@SiO2, which allows high efficient loading of VEGF small hairpin (sh)RNA to form Fe3O4@SiO2/PEI/VEGF shRNA nanocomposites for VEGF gene silencing as well as magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The size, morphology, particle stability, magnetic properties, and gene-binding capacity and protection were determined. Low cytotoxicity and hemolyticity against human red blood cells showed the excellent biocompatibility of the multifunctional nanocomposites, and also no significant coagulation was observed. The nanocomposites maintain their superparamagnetic property at room temperature and no appreciable change in magnetism, even after PEI modification. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of cellular internalization into MCF-7 human breast cancer cells by Prussian blue staining and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy analysis, respectively, demonstrated that the Fe3O4@SiO2/PEI/VEGF shRNA nanocomposites could be easily internalized by MCF-7 cells, and they exhibited significant inhibition of VEGF gene expression. Furthermore, the MR cellular images showed that the superparamagnetic iron oxide core of our Fe3O4@SiO2/PEI/VEGF shRNA nanocomposites could also act as a T2-weighted contrast agent for cancer MR imaging. Our data highlight multifunctional Fe3O4@SiO2/PEI/VEGF shRNA nanocomposites as a potential platform for simultaneous gene delivery and MR cell imaging, which are promising as theranostic agents for cancer treatment and diagnosis in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chengchen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China ; Center for Information in Biomedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chunhui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China ; Center for Information in Biomedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hongjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China ; Center for Information in Biomedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yiyao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004912:Erythrocytes; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D000068936:Theranostic Nanomedicine / Q000379:methods*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D011108:Polymers; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C433673:polyetherimide; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
keywords: MR imaging; PEI; VEGF silence; core/shell nanoparticle; theranostics