Ferritin: A Platform for MRI Contrast Agents Delivery

Ruggiero, María; Alberti, Diego; Bitonto, Valeria; Crich, Simonetta Geninatti

doi:10.3390/inorganics7030033

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Several HFn-based nanodrugs have been proposed for drug delivery with excellent results in terms of specific tumor recognition and increased activity with lower side effects [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]; however, ferritin nanoparticles suggested for diagnostic purposes are restricted to magnetic resonance imaging [ 27 , 32 , 36 ] and there are only a few examples of optical imaging applications [ 37 ] that do not include FGS or ICG exploitation. In light of this, we have proposed ICG loaded HFn nanocages as an in vivo system for FGS that will allow the surgeon to perform a more accurate surgical resection of the tumor with the ultimate goal of improving surgical outcomes [ 38 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tumor Accumulation and Off-Target Biodistribution of an Indocyanine-Green Fluorescent Nanotracer: An Ex Vivo Study on an Orthotopic Murine Model of Breast Cancer

Sevieri

Sitia

Bonizzi

et al. 2021

IJMS

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Indocyanine green (ICG) is a near infrared fluorescent tracer used in image-guided surgery to assist surgeons during resection. Despite appearing as a very promising tool for surgical oncology, its employment in this area is limited to lymph node mapping or to laparoscopic surgery, as it lacks tumor targeting specificity. Recently, a nanoformulation of this dye has been proposed with the aim toward tumor targeting specificity in order to expand its employment in surgical oncology. This nanosystem is constituted by 24 monomers of H-Ferritin (HFn), which self-assemble into a spherical cage structure enclosing the indocyanine green fluorescent tracer. These HFn nanocages were demonstrated to display tumor homing due to the specific interaction between the HFn nanocage and transferrin receptor 1, which is overexpressed in most tumor tissues. Here, we provide an ex vivo detailed comparison between the biodistribution of this nanotracer and free ICG, combining the results obtained with the Karl Storz endoscope that is currently used in clinical practice and the quantification of the ICG signal derived from the fluorescence imaging system IVIS Lumina II. These insights demonstrate the suitability of this novel HFn-based nanosystem in fluorescence-guided oncological surgery.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tumor Accumulation and Off-Target Biodistribution of an Indocyanine-Green Fluorescent Nanotracer: An Ex Vivo Study on an Orthotopic Murine Model of Breast Cancer

Sevieri

Sitia

Bonizzi

et al. 2021

IJMS

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“…23 Further, ferritin is able to effectively capture ions other than Fe 3+ in vivo, 24 as demonstrated by isolation of an Al 3+ferritin complex from the human brain, horse spleen and liver. 25 Attachment of Gd 3+ in an ionic or chelated form to macromolecular or nanoparticulate structures including ferritin 26,27 greatly enhances T 1 relaxivity. Finally, soluble macromolecular Fe-and Gd-rich fractions isolated from a rat brain had molecular weights higher than 250-300 kDa.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation of gadolinium–ferritin from clinical magnetic resonance contrast agents

et al. 2020

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“…Ferritin, an evolutionarily conserved molecule used for iron storage, is one such metalloprotein. The essential role of ferritin in iron homeostasis makes its study highly important for fundamental biochemistry research and clinical analysis of iron status, − while the magnetic properties of its core mean that it holds interest for understanding magnetism in nanoscale condensed matter systems. − Combined, these attributes also make ferritin an emerging protein for nanotechnology and drug delivery applications …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonmonotonic Superparamagnetic Behavior of the Ferritin Iron Core Revealed via Quantum Spin Relaxometry

et al. 2022

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Ferritin is the primary storage protein in our body and is of significant interest in biochemistry, nanotechnology, and condensed matter physics. More specifically within this sphere of interest are the magnetic properties of the iron core of ferritin, which have been utilized as a contrast agent in applications such as magnetic resonance imaging. This magnetism depends on both the number of iron atoms present, L, and the nature of the magnetic ordering of their electron spins. In this work, we create a series of ferritin samples containing homogeneous iron loads and apply diamond-based quantum spin relaxometry to systematically study their room temperature magnetic properties. We observe anomalous magnetic behavior that can be explained using a theoretical model detailing a morphological change to the iron core occurring at relatively low iron loads. This model provides an L 0.35±0.06 scaling of the uncompensated Fe spins, in agreement with previous theoretical predictions. The necessary inclusion of this morphological change within the model is also supported by electron microscopy studies of ferritin with low iron content. This provides evidence for a magnetic consequence of this morphological change and positions diamond-based quantum spin relaxometry as an effective, noninvasive tool for probing the magnetic properties of metalloproteins. The low detection limit (ferritin 2% loaded at a concentration of 7.5 ± 0.4 μg/mL) also makes this a promising method for precision applications where low analyte concentrations are unavoidable, such as in biological research or even clinical analysis.

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Ferritin: A Platform for MRI Contrast Agents Delivery

Cited by 12 publications

References 74 publications

Tumor Accumulation and Off-Target Biodistribution of an Indocyanine-Green Fluorescent Nanotracer: An Ex Vivo Study on an Orthotopic Murine Model of Breast Cancer

Tumor Accumulation and Off-Target Biodistribution of an Indocyanine-Green Fluorescent Nanotracer: An Ex Vivo Study on an Orthotopic Murine Model of Breast Cancer

Formation of gadolinium–ferritin from clinical magnetic resonance contrast agents

Nonmonotonic Superparamagnetic Behavior of the Ferritin Iron Core Revealed via Quantum Spin Relaxometry

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