Dynamic Uptake of a Targeted GD-Chelate Nanoemulsion By a Αvβ3 Expressing Cell Layer Followed-up with a Micro-MRI Set-Up

Nicolas Gargam¹, Marie Poirier-Quinot¹, Caroline Robic², Jean-Frdric Salazar², Jean-Sbastien Raynaud², Philippe Robert², Luc Darrasse¹

In this work, we demonstrate by micro-MRI the dynamic uptake of a RGD-targeted Gd-loaded emulsion by a HUVEC cell monolayer expressing the 3 integrin, which is a promising target for molecular imaging due to its high level of expression during tumor angiogenesis. The signal enhancement observed on the cell monolayer indicates a 3-fold higher uptake of the targeted emulsion by the HUVEC cells when compared to the control emulsion. This In Vitro molecular imaging model approach can be useful prior to in vivo experiments on animals, particularly to assess the specificity and characterize the binding kinetics of targeted CAs.