Yan Y, Yang C, Dai G, Zhang Y, Tu G, Li Y, Yang L, Shu J. Folic Acid-Conjugated CuFeSe
2 Nanoparticles for Targeted T2-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Computed Tomography of Tumors In Vivo.
Int J Nanomedicine 2021;
16:6429-6440. [PMID:
34556988 PMCID:
PMC8455293 DOI:
10.2147/ijn.s320277]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Background
Development of new long-circulating contrast agents for computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of different biological systems still remains a great challenge. Here, we report the synthesis of folic acid (FA)-targeted CuFeSe2 nano-contrast agent for CT and MRI imaging in vitro and in vivo.
Methods and Results
In our study, CuFeSe2 was fabricated through a facile and green aqueous reaction and then further aminated through silanization. The amine-functionalized CuFeSe2-NH2 nanoparticles enable the covalent conjugation of folate-conjugated polyethylene glycol (FA-PEG-COOH) as a targeting ligand onto their surface, which could improve the dispersion and endue the targetability of nanoparticles, respectively. The formed multifunctional CuFeSe2-PEG-FA nanoparticles were characterized via different techniques, which exhibited outstanding dispersion, good biocompatibility and excellent FA-targeted capability. Meanwhile, the nanoparticles were quite safe in the given concentration range as confirmed by in vitro and in vivo toxicity assay. Importantly, CuFeSe2-PEG-FA nanoparticles were successfully applied in CT/MRI dual-modality imaging in vitro and in vivo, which showed a better imaging performance and targeted capability.
Conclusion
Therefore, the constructed CuFeSe2-PEG-FA nanoparticles have a great potential as an efficient contrast agent for dual-modality imaging of different biological systems.
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