Geralda A.F.
van Tilborg1, Willem J.M. Mulder2, Susanne M.A. van der
Pol3, Louis van Bloois4, Annette van der Toorn1,
Gert Storm4, Helga E. de Vries3, Rick M. Dijkhuizen1
1Image Sciences Institute, University Medical
Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands; 2Translational and Molecular
Imaging Institute, , Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, United States;
3Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, VU
University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands; 4Department of
Pharmaceutics, Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht, Netherlands
In
this study we propose a novel lipid-coated fluorescent iron oxide particle
for simultaneous magnetic and fluorescent cell labeling. Murine macrophages (RAW)
were incubated with the contrast agent and showed efficient labeling without
inducing toxicity. Labeled cells were clearly detected with T2-weighted MRI,
fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. The presented nanoparticulate
agent represents a versatile and potent contrast material for cellular
imaging, and can be particularly attractive for assessing the fate of in vivo
administered labeled cells with multimodal imaging techniques.