Strong and specific interaction of ultra small superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and human activated platelets mediated by fucoidan coating

Abstract

Activated platelets play a pivotal role in cardiovascular diseases such as atherothrombosis. Therefore, strategies enabling activated platelet molecular imaging are of great interest. Herein, a chemical protocol was investigated for coating superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with low molecular weight fucoidan, a ligand of P-selectin expressed on the surface of activated platelets. The physico–chemical characterization of the obtained product demonstrated successful fucoidan coating and its potential as a T2 MRI contrast agent. The specificity and the strength of the interaction between fucoidan-coated iron oxide nanoparticles and human activated platelets was demonstrated by flow cytometry. Micromagnetophoresis experiments revealed that platelets experience magnetically-induced motion in the presence of a magnetic field gradient created by a micromagnet. Altogether, these results indicate that superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles coated with low molecular weight fucoidan may represent a promising molecular imaging tool for activated platelets in human diseases.