Viral nanoparticles donning a paramagnetic coat: conjugation of MRI contrast agents to the MS2 capsid

Nano Lett. 2006 Jun;6(6):1160-4. doi: 10.1021/nl060378g.

Abstract

A nanoparticle magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent was developed by conjugation of more than 500 gadolinium chelate groups onto a viral capsid. The high density of paramagnetic centers and slow tumbling rate of modified MS2 capsids provided enhanced T1 relaxivities up to 7200 mM-1s-1 per particle. A bimodal imaging agent was generated by sequential conjugation of fluorescein and Gd3+ chelate. These results illustrate the potential for engineering natural protein assemblies to address bionanotechnology applications.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Binding Sites
  • Capsid / chemistry*
  • Capsid / ultrastructure
  • Coated Materials, Biocompatible / chemistry
  • Contrast Media / chemistry*
  • Gadolinium DTPA / chemistry*
  • Image Enhancement / methods
  • Levivirus / chemistry*
  • Levivirus / ultrastructure*
  • Magnetics*
  • Materials Testing
  • Multiprotein Complexes / chemistry
  • Multiprotein Complexes / ultrastructure
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Nanostructures / ultrastructure
  • Particle Size
  • Protein Binding

Substances

  • Coated Materials, Biocompatible
  • Contrast Media
  • Multiprotein Complexes
  • Gadolinium DTPA