Abstract #0930

Intravenous Injection of Fluorescent Iron-Oxide Nanoparticles for in Vivo Loading and Tracking of Monocytes to Myocardial Infarction by MRI and Optical Imaging

Karin Montet-Abou¹, Jean-Luc Daire¹, Jean-Noel Hyacinthe¹, Francois Mach², Alke Petri-Fink³, Heinrich Hofmann³, Denis R. Morel⁴, Jean-Paul Vallee¹, Xavier Montet¹

¹Radiology, Geneva University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland; ²Cardiology, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland; ³Laboratory of Powder Technology, EPFL, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland; ⁴Anesthesiological Investigation Unit, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland

Inflammatory cells are involved in numerous pathologies, including myocardial infarction. In the case of myocardial infarction the majority of the infiltrating cells are monocytes/macrophages. This study demonstrates that monocytes/macrophages can be loaded in vivo by a simple intravenous injection of fluorescent superparamagnetic iron oxide and then tracked, in the same animal, in a model of ischemia-reperfusion leading to myocardial infarct.