Facile preparation of hyaluronic acid-modified Fe3O4@Mn3O4 nanocomposites for targeted T1/T2 dual-mode MR imaging of cancer cells

Abstract

We report a facile approach to synthesizing hyaluronic acid (HA)-modified Fe₃O₄@Mn₃O₄ nanocomposites (NCs) for targeted T₁/T₂ dual-mode magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of cancer cells. In this work, branched polyethyleneimine (PEI)-coated Fe₃O₄@Mn₃O₄ NCs (Fe₃O₄@Mn₃O₄-PEI NCs) were first synthesized via a one-pot hydrothermal route, followed by modification of HA on the particle surface via PEI amines. The formed Fe₃O₄@Mn₃O₄-PEI-HA NCs were well characterized via different techniques. Our results manifest that the formed Fe₃O₄@Mn₃O₄-PEI-HA NCs possess good water dispersibility, colloidal stability, cytocompatibility in the studied concentration range, and targeting specificity to CD44 receptor-overexpressing cancer cells. Due to the coexistence of Fe₃O₄ and Mn₃O₄ in the particles, the Fe₃O₄@Mn₃O₄-PEI-HA NCs display relatively high r₂ (143.26 mM⁻¹ s⁻¹) and r₁ (2.15 mM⁻¹ s⁻¹) relaxivities, and can be used as an efficient nanoprobe for targeted T₁/T₂ dual-mode MR imaging of cancer cells in vitro. The developed Fe₃O₄@Mn₃O₄-PEI-HA NCs may hold great promise to be used as a nanoplatform for theranostics of different biological systems.