Maleimidyl magnetic nanoplatform for facile molecular MRI.

Dan Heo, Eugene Lee, Minhee Ku, Seungyeon Hwang, Bongjune Kim, Yeonji Park, Young Han Lee, Yong-Min Huh, Seungjoo Haam, Jae-Ho Cheong, Jaemoon Yang, Jin-Suck Suh

Index: Nanotechnology 25(27) , 275102, (2014)

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Abstract

In this study, we developed the maleimidyl magnetic nanoplatform, which enables functional targeting of a biomarker-specific moiety for molecular imaging via MRI. The maleimide group of the maleimidyl magnetic nanoplatform is conjugated with a thiol group without additional crosslinkers and side products. A physicochemical analysis was conducted to verify the effectiveness of the maleimidyl magnetic nanoplatform, and the existence of the maleimidyl group was investigated using the platform. To prepare biomarker-specific MRI probes, a thiolated aptamer and peptide were immobilized onto the maleimidyl group of the maleimidyl magnetic nanoplatform. The fabricated MRI probes were applied to four cancer cell lines: HT1080, MCF7, MKN45, and HEK293T. To investigate the potential of the molecular MRI probe, the target-biomarker specificity was confirmed without serious cytotoxicity, and in vivo MRI analysis using a xenograft mouse model was demonstrated. We believe these results will be useful for fabricating molecular MRI probes for the diagnosis of cancer.