Folic Acid-Conjugated CuFeSe2 Nanoparticles for Targeted T2-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Computed Tomography of Tumors In Vivo

Abstract

Yulan Yan,1,* Chunmei Yang,1,* Guidong Dai,1 Yu Zhang,1 Guojian Tu,1 Yuwei Li,2 Lu Yang,1 Jian Shu1 1Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, and Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Interventional Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Lu Yang; Jian ShuDepartment of Radiology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, and Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel [phone]; [phone]Email [email protected]; [email protected]: 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.Keywords: CuFeSe2 nanoparticles, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography imaging, dual-modality imaging, folic acid

Keywords

• cufese2 nanoparticles
• magnetic resonance imaging
• computed tomography imaging
• dual-modality imaging
• folic acid