VHPKQHR peptide modified magnetic mesoporous nanoparticles for MRI detection of atherosclerosis lesions

Abstract

Mortality attributable to atherosclerosis can be reduced significantly with timely diagnosis and treatment. It is meaningful to find a proper way to diagnose and prevent the progression of atherosclerosis. Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expressed by endothelial cells is a prominent marker of atherosclerotic plaques. There are a number of researches on VCAM-1 based probes for targeted imaging, but rarely on a system with both targeting and drug delivery. Here, we report a novel magnetic mesoporous silicon nanoparticle that is capable of drug delivery and targeting at atherosclerosis plaque. The nanoparticles were constructed using incorporated FITC (fluorescein isothiocyanate) and VHPKQHR peptide into Fe3O4@SiO2 (FITC-VHP-Fe3O4@SiO2). The FITC-VHP-Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles showed great morphological characteristics, superior targeting ability, low toxicity and good biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo. The in vivo experiments showed that FITC-VHP-Fe3O4@SiO2 is a superior contrast agent of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for diagnosis of atherosclerosis plaques.