The case of the tiny glowing magnets: Fe3O4@SiO2-FiTC magnetofluorescent nanoprobes for combined magnetic resonance imaging and fluorescence.
Category: Research Poster
Author(s): Hutch Schumacher, Alexander Lott, Alex Peirce
Presenter(s): Hutch Schumacher
Mentors(s): Abhinandan Banerjee
Nanobioprobes allow us to map disease pathways, monitor treatment responses, and observe regenerative processes in real-time. To fully understand these biological systems, we require imaging agents that can bridge the gap between different scales - from single molecule interactions to whole-organism physiology. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a cornerstone of medical diagnostics, providing high-resolution, deep-tissue anatomical data without ionizing radiation [1]. However, MRI often suffers from low molecular sensitivity. In contrast, fluorescence imaging offers high sensitivity and molecular specificity but is limited by its shallow penetration depths. The development of theragnostic nanoprobes—agents that combine both imaging and therapeutic capabilities - is the next frontier in precision medicine [2]. In this study, we encapsulated the fluorescent dye fluorescein isothiocyanate (FiTC) within spherical silica nanobeads (FiTC-SiO2) of ca. 100 nm in diameter, and decorated their surfaces with sub-8 nm iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanodots [3]. The resultant composite material showed superparamagnetism while retaining fluorescence. T2 MRI contrast augmentation was observed in the presence of these nanoprobes. Dosing the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) with our magnetofluorescent bionanoprobes provides us with a cost-effective and accessible biological validation platform for examining biocompatibility and functional properties of the Fe3O4@SiO2-FiTC magnetofluorescent nanoprobes in a living organism.