Collaborating with researchers from Anhui Medical University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a study team led by Professor WU Zhengyan in Institute of Technical Biology and Agriculture Engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, developed a yolk-like Fe₃O₄@Gd₂O₃ nanoplatform for targeted T₁-T₂ dual-mode MR imaging and chemotherapy of cancer.

The paper entitled A pH-Responsive Yolk-Like Nanoplatform for Tumor Targeted Dual-Mode Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Chemotherapy was published in ACS Nano. 

Incorporation of T₁ and T₂ contrast material in one nanosystem, which performs their respective MR contrast role and simultaneously serves as efficient drug delivery system, was potentially applicable in clinical diagnosis and chemotherapy of cancer.

However, inappropriate incorporation always encounters many issues, such as low contact area of T₁ contrast material with water-proton, inappropriate distance between T₂ contrast material and water molecule, and undesirable disturbance of T₂ contrast material for T₁ imaging.

Those issues seriously limits the T₁ or T₂ contrast effect. Therefore, it is of great importance to design new material with suitable nanostructure to avoid these issues.

In this work, researchers developed a yolk-like Fe₃O₄@Gd₂O₃ nanoplatform functionalized by PEG and folic acid (FA), which could efficiently exert their tumor targeted T₁-T₂ dual-mode MR imaging and drug delivery role.

Then cisplatin could be efficiently loaded into this nanoplatform (112 mg/g) and showed pH-responsive release behavior.

In addition, the nanoplatform could be effectively internalized by HeLa cells with time- and dosage-dependence.

Importantly, the FA receptor mediated nanoplatform displayed excellent T₁-T₂  dual mode MR contrast enhancement and anticancer activity both in vitro and in vivo. And no apparent toxicity for vital organs was observed under systemic delivery of the nanoplatform in vivo.

This work has a potential application in design of multifunctional nanotheranostic as dual-mode MR contrast agent and drug delivery system.

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Key Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Schematic illustration of the fabrication process, systemic delivery of FA-PYFGN-CDDP in vivo, and corresponding diagnosis and therapy for tumor. (Image by SUN Xiao)