Abstract #3861

Expanding Applications of Cellular MRI by Combining Fluorine-19 and Iron-Oxide Techniques

T Kevin Hitchens¹,², Li Liu³, Virgil Simplaceanu³,⁴, Lesley M. Foley³, Eric T. Ahrens³,⁴, Chien Ho³,⁴

¹Pittsburgh NMR Center for Biomedical Research, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh , PA, United States; ²Department of Biological Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh , PA, United States; ³Pittsburgh NMR Center for Biomedical Research, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States; ⁴Department of Biological Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Both perfluorocarbon (PFC) and iron-oxide nanoparticles are established reagents for cell labeling and MRI tracking studies. Here we combine these two labels to investigate new applications. We show that 19F MRI can detect PFC-labeled cells in the presence of iron-oxide-labeled cells, opening the possibility of simultaneously tracking two populations of labeled cells. In addition, iron-oxide nanoparticles in the same cell can be used to quench 19F signal from the PFC label. Thus, systemic iron-oxide labeling of macrophages may be used to quench 19F signal taken up from dead PFC-labeled cell transplants, a major limitation to current MRI cell tracking studies.