Fluorescent/magnetic nano-aggregation via electrostatic force between modified quantum dot and iron oxide nanoparticles for bimodal imaging of U87MG tumor cells.

Imaging technology based on novel nanomaterials is burgeoning as a potential tool for exploring various physiological processes. We herein report a fluorescent and magnetic nanoprobe (QMNP-RGD) for bimodal imaging of in vitro tumor cells. The preparation of this multifunctional nanomaterial is divided into three steps. First, commercial quantum dots (QDs) with high fluorescence intensity are covalently modified with an RGD peptide, which can facilitate the tumor cell uptake by αvβ3 integrin-induced active recognition. Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles (NPs) are then capped using a cationic polysaccharide to improve stability. Integration is finally achieved by convenient electrostatic binding. We successfully demonstrated that QMNP-RGD can be efficiently delivered into U87MG cells and used for fluorescence/magnetic resonance (MR) bimodal imaging. Other multimodal probes may be able to be designed for imaging based on this strategy of electrostatic binding.