Daisuke Kokuryo1,
Yasutaka Anraku2, Akihiro Kishimura2, Sayaka Tanaka3,
Mitsunobu R. Kano4, Nobuhiro Nishiyama3, Tsuneo Saga1,
Ichio Aoki1, Kazunori Kataoka2, 3
1Molecular
Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, Japan; 2Graduate
School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; 3Graduate
School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; 4Graduate
School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama
University, Okayama, Japan
A newly developed SPIO-loaded and fluorescence dye (Cy5)-labeled polyion complex nanocarrier, termed SPIO-Cy5-PICsome, composed of two biocompatible oppositely charged block copolymers was applied to evaluate its ability to detect small tumors with MRI. In vitro r2 of the SPIO-Cy5-PICsomes was 2.54 times higher than that of free ferucarbotran. In in vivo experiments using subcutaneously xenografted mice, MR signal from the tumor changed during the 3 hours after SPIO-Cy5-PICsome administration. A small tumor was also detected at 24 hours after administration. SPIO-Cy5-PICsomes are a powerful nanocarrier with the potential to detect small and early-stage tumor for early diagnosis.