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Gadolinium Metallofullerene‐Based Activatable Contrast Agent for Tumor Signal Amplification and Monitoring of Drug Release
Author(s) -
Wang Sheng,
Zhou Zijian,
Wang Zhantong,
Liu Yijing,
Jacobson Orit,
Shen Zheyu,
Fu Xiao,
Chen ZhiYi,
Chen Xiaoyuan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201900691
Subject(s) - gadolinium , mri contrast agent , materials science , magnetic resonance imaging , nanoparticle , nanocarriers , polymer , doxorubicin , chemistry , nanotechnology , chemotherapy , radiology , medicine , metallurgy , composite material , surgery
Activatable imaging probes are promising to achieve increased signal‐to‐noise ratio for accurate tumor diagnosis and treatment monitoring. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive imaging technique with excellent anatomic spatial resolution and unlimited tissue penetration depth. However, most of the activatable MRI contrast agents suffer from metal ion‐associated potential long‐term toxicity, which may limit their bioapplications and clinical translation. Herein, an activatable MRI agent with efficient MRI performance and high safety is developed for drug (doxorubicin) loading and tumor signal amplification. The agent is based on pH‐responsive polymer and gadolinium metallofullerene (GMF). This GMF‐based contrast agent shows high relaxivity and low risk of gadolinium ion release. At physiological pH, both GMF and drug molecules are encapsulated into the hydrophobic core of nanoparticles formed by the pH‐responsive polymer and shielded from the aqueous environment, resulting in relatively low longitudinal relativity and slow drug release. However, in acidic tumor microenvironment, the hydrophobic‐to‐hydrophilic conversion of the pH‐responsive polymer leads to amplified MR signal and rapid drug release simultaneously. These results suggest that the prepared activatable MRI contrast agent holds great promise for tumor detection and monitoring of drug release.