NMR-based sensors using iron oxide nanoparticles

INOR 491

Sonia Taktak, staktak@partners.org1, David Sosnovik1, Michael J. Cima2, Ralph Weissleder1, and Lee Josephson1. (1) Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, (2) Department of Material Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
Continuous monitoring of metabolites or drug levels in vivo is an important challenge of modern medicine. Current clinical assays typically use turbidity, fluorimetry, colorimetry or electrochemistry for detection. Unlike these techniques, the use of magnetic resonance imaging as a detection tool would allow for non-invasive, in vivo testing. NMR-based assays using nanoparticles have been developed, which can detect various analytes from small molecules to viral entities. The technique is based on the property of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles to self-assemble in the presence of a target analyte resulting in changes in relaxation times of the surrounding water protons, which can be monitored by NMR. We will demonstrate that these so-called magnetic relaxation switches are self-reporting sensors that can report both on analyte concentration and sensor concentration. New examples of application for the detection of biologically relevant analytes will also be presented.

 

Nanoscience: Applications
8:30 AM-12:10 PM, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 BCEC -- 209, Oral

Division of Inorganic Chemistry

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007