Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONS) were synthesized by thermal decomposition o
f an organometallic precursor at high temperature and coated with a bi-layer composed o
f oleic acid and methoxy-polyethylene glycol-phospholipid. The
formulations were named SPION-PEG350 and SPION-PEG2000. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray di
ffraction and magnetic measurements show that the SPIONs are near-spherical, well-crystalline, and have high saturation magnetization and susceptibility. FTIR spectroscopy identi
fies the presence o
f oleic acid and o
f the conjugates mPEG
for each sample.
In vitro biocompatibility o
f SPIONS was investigated using three cell lines; up to 100 μg/ml SPION-PEG350 showed non-toxicity, while SPION-PEG2000 showed no signal o
f toxicity even up to 200 μg/ml. The uptake o
f SPIONS was detected using magnetization measurement, con
focal and atomic
force microscopy. SPION-PEG2000 presented the highest internalization capacity, which should be correlated with the mPEG chain size. The
in vivo results suggested that SPION-PEG2000 administration in mice triggered liver and kidney injury.
From the Clinical Editor
The potential use of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONS) in the clinical setting have been studied by many researchers. The authors synthesized two types of SPIONS here and investigated the physical properties and biological compatibility. The findings should provide more data on the design of SPIONS for clinical application in the future.