Michael K. Nkansah1, Dorit Granot2,
Tricia L. Lobo2, Erik M. Shapiro2
1Department of Biomedical
Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; 2Department
of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT,
United States
Bio-MPIOs are biodegradable micron sized iron oxide particles fabricated using an FDA approved polymer. Here we describe design improvements to PLGA encapsulated iron oxide nano- and microparticles, experiments on magnetic cell labeling, cell differentiation and cytokine release experiments, and ultimately, the first in vivo demonstration of MRI-based cell tracking using PLGA encapsulated iron oxide microparticles, or, Bio-MPIOs. This is the first demonstration of MRI-based cell tracking using Bio-MPIOs and is encouraging for the development of these particles for clinical MRI-based cell tracking.