Abstract #0906

Detection Limits of Very Small Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in Labeled Cells: A Quantitative Evaluation of Histochemistry and MR-Relaxometry

Gert Klug¹, Johannes Bremicker¹, Thomas Kampf², Elisabeth Bauer¹, Thomas Basse-Lsebrink², Meike Weber³, Uwe Gbureck⁴, Ulrich Nth³, Peter Michael Jakob², Wolfgang Rudolf Bauer¹

¹Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I, Universittsklinikum Wrzburg, Wrzburg, Germany; ²Experimentelle Physik 5, Universitt Wrzburg, Wrzburg, Germany; ³Orthopdisches Zentrum fr Muskuloskelettale Forschung, Orthopdische Klinik Knig-Ludwig Haus, Wrzburg, Germany; ⁴Abteilung fr Funktionswerkstoffe der Medizin und der Zahnheilkunde, Universittsklinikum Wrzburg, Wrzburg, Germany

With regard to the growing interest in MR-cell-tracking based on ION-labeled cells a determination of detection limits of IONs by means of MRI and histochemistry remains crucial. We investigated the relation between intracellular iron content (pg/cell) and the capability of histochemistry and MRI to detect in vitro ION-labeled cells. We have shown that MRI is able to detect even low amounts of intracellular VSOP that histochemistry fails to detect. Our results suggest that for the histological validation of MR-cell-tracking studies with VSOP at least 2.13 pg/cell should be achieved.