Over the last decade, an important challenge in nanomedicine imaging is to design all-in-one multifunctional agents that can be detected by multimodal techniques. Dual-modality radiolabeled nanoparticles are promising candidates since they combine synergistic advantages, for noninvasive, high sensitive, high-resolution, and quantitative imaging of two different imaging modalities, namely single-photon emission computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (SPECT and MRI). Significant breakthrough has been made toward the development of various radiolabeled and/or fluorescent nanoparticles which can be used as promising diagnostic and cancer evaluation tools.
The main objective of this project is to design a new multifunctional radiolabeled hybrid magnetic tracer as dual-modality SPECT and MRI imaging probe.
The specific objectives are:
- design and optimize multifunctional radiolabelled hybrid magnetic nanoparticles preparation;
- in vitro and in vivo studies;
- SPECT and MRI evaluation of tracer and comparison with fluorescent/PET imaging.
An innovative, strategy divided in several steps, will be employed for achieving dual-modality candidate:
– first, hybrid magnetic nanoparticles will be prepared using iron oxide core, multifunctional silica shell chain and fluorescent marker;
– secondly, will follow 99mTc radiolabeling of hybrid magnetic nanoparticle;
– then, in vitro evaluation, uptake and cytotoxicity tests on normal and different pathological (tumoral and nontumoral) cells;
– in vivo biodistribution with quantitative evaluation of the new radiotracer on small animals (normal and tumoral tissues);
– multimodal imaging evaluation of the obtained nanotracer using SPECT and MRI and comparison studies with fluorescent/PET on animals imaging.
The project will open opportunities to extend this new nanotracer for therapeutic use and chemotherapy monitoring, besides its imaging diagnostic use due to its versatile functions to link different molecules to the same core.