Aptamer modified nanoprobe for multimodal fluorescence/magnetic resonance imaging of human ovarian cancer cells

• Published in: Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Materials science & processing, 2021, Vol.127 (1), Article 47
• Main Authors: Asgari, Mahdi, Khanahmad, Hossein, Motaghi, Hasan, Farzadniya, Amin, Mehrgardi, Masoud A., Shokrani, Parvaneh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied physics; Cancer; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Contrast agents; Cytotoxicity; Fluorescent indicators; Fourier transforms; FTIR spectrometers; Infrared spectrometers; Iron oxides; Machines; Magnetic resonance imaging; Manufacturing; Materials science; Medical imaging; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Ovarian cancer; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Processes; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films
• ISSN: 0947-8396; 1432-0630
• DOI: 10.1007/s00339-020-04171-4

A multifunctional-aptamer (APT) nanoprobe, TOV6 APT-superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle-carbon dots (APT-SPION-CDs), for fluorescence and magnetic resonance targeted imaging (FI/MRI) of human ovarian cancer cells (OVCAR-3) is introduced. The SPION-CDs were synthesized and conjugated with TOV6 APT recognizing the stress-induced phosphoprotein 1 (STIP1) overexpressed on OVCAR-3 cells. The capability of the nanoprobe as a contrast agent for MRI and simultaneously as a fluorescent probe for fluorescence microscopy was studied. TOV6 APTs were adsorbed on SPION-CDs and were confirmed with Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay showed higher cytotoxic effects for APT-SPION-CDs compared to SPION-CDs on STIP1-negative HeLa cells. But on OVCAR-3, as STIP1-positive cells, the cytotoxic effect was negligible. The fluorescence microscopic images confirmed that APT-SPION-CDs specifically targeted ovarian cancer cells due to the tumor-targeting effect of TOV6 APT. High spin–spin relaxivity value ( r 2  = 308.5 mM −1  s −1 ) and the signal enhancement in T 2 -weighted MRIs confirmed the capability of the nanoprobe as a T 2 -based contrast agent. In vitro cellular uptake and signal enhancement of this multimodal FI/MRI nanoprobe demonstrated the potential application of APT-SPION-CDs as a contrast agent for MRI and as a fluorescent probe for fluorescence microscopic imaging.