Biomedical applications of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles encapsulated within chitosan

Microspheres composed of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO; Fe3O4; magnetite) nanoparticles and chitosan were developed as a novel MRI-detectable embolic material. Spherical SPIO nanoparticles were synthesized and embedded in polyglucosamine (chitosan) by sonochemical method. The ferrofluid, solution of SPIO-embedded chitosan, was sprayed on the surface of an alkali solution with a nozzle to produce SPIO-chitosan microspheres, from which 100-150 mu m microspheres were sifted out. The sifted microspheres were injected into the blood vessel leading to the kidney of a New Zealand white rabbit via an angiographic catheter in vivo, and they appeared to be detected in MR images of the kidney. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.