7. Magnetite-Nanoparticle-Encapsulated pH-Responsive Polymeric Micelle as an MRI Probe for Detecting Acidic Pathologic Areas
作者：Guang Hui Gao, Geun Ho Im, Min Sang Kim, Jae Won Lee, Jehoon Yang, Hyesung Jeon, Jung Hee Lee, Do
關鍵字：Polymer micelle; imaging
論文來源：期刊
具體來源：Small
發表時間：2010年
Nanometer-sized particles are increasingly used for biomedical
applications,[1] as polymeric micelles to carry hydrophobic
imaging markers and/or drugs for disease diagnosis and
therapy.[2] Usually, these polymeric micelles in an aqueous
medium are composed of a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic
corona, sometimes conjugated with active-targeting ligands
(e.g., antibody, peptides, nucleic acids) that can target the
biomarker of a disease.[2a–c] On the other hand, some polymeric
micelles alone, not conjugated with a targeting ligand, can also
target the pathologic tissue by a stimuli-response mechanism,
with which pH, temperature, or redox can be a stimulus
condition.[3] In this context, a pH-responsive polymeric micelle
is utilized to be reactive in an acidic-pH environment, in which it
is then dissolved. We envisioned that if we encapsulate
magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4), which are frequently used
as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), into
the pH-responsive polymeric micelle, the resulting Fe3O4-
nanoparticle-loaded pH-responsive polymeric micelle could be
used as a contrast agent for MRI to target and, simultaneously,
image the pH-stimuli tissue, such as cancerous tissue. Herein,
we report a facile and powerful pH-responsive polymeric
micelle that can well encapsulate Fe3O4 nanoparticles, and its
potential applications in medicine for diagnostic imaging of
acidic pathologic areas.