In this work we describe the formulation and characterisation of red-emitting polymeric nanocapsules (NCs) incorporating superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) for magnetic tumour targeting. The self-fluorescent oligomers were synthesised and chemically conjugated to PLGA which was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Hydrophobic SPIONs were synthesised through thermal decomposition and their magnetic and heating properties were assessed by SQUID magnetometry and calorimetric measurements, respectively. Magnetic nanocapsules (m-NCs) were prepared by a single emulsification/solvent evaporation method. Their in vitro cytotoxicity was examined in CT26 colon cancer cells. The formulated fluorescent m-NCs showed good stability and biocompatibility both in vitro and in vivo in CT 26 colon cancer models. Following intravenous injection, accumulation of m-NCs in tumours was observed by optical imaging. A higher iron content in the tumours exposed to a magnetic field, compared to the contralateral tumours without magnetic exposure in the same animal, further confirmed the magnetic tumour targeting in vivo. The overall results show that the engineered red-emitting m-NCs have great potential as multifunctional nanocarriers for multi-model bioimaging and magnetic-targeted drug delivery.

中文翻译：

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工程学发射红色的多功能纳米胶囊，用于磁性肿瘤靶向和成像。

在这项工作中，我们描述了掺有超顺磁性氧化铁纳米粒子（SPIONs）的红色发光聚合物纳米胶囊（NCs）的配制和表征，用于磁性肿瘤靶向。合成了自发荧光低聚物，并将其化学缀合至PLGA，这已通过NMR光谱，FT-IR光谱和质谱法证实。通过热分解合成疏水性SPIONs，并分别通过SQUID磁法和量热法评估其磁性和加热性能。磁性纳米胶囊（m-NCs）是通过单乳化/溶剂蒸发法制备的。在CT26结肠癌细胞中检查了它们的体外细胞毒性。配制的荧光m-NC在CT 26结肠癌模型中在体内和体外均显示出良好的稳定性和生物相容性。静脉注射后，通过光学成像观察到m-NCs在肿瘤中的积累。与同一只动物中没有进行磁场暴露的对侧肿瘤相比，暴露在磁场中的肿瘤中铁含量更高，进一步证实了体内靶向磁性肿瘤。总体结果表明，经过工程改造的发射红色m-NC具有作为多功能纳米载体的巨大潜力，可用于多模式生物成像和磁性靶向药物递送。