Using Magnetometry to Monitor Cellular Incorporation and Subsequent Biodegradation of Chemically Synthetized Iron Oxide Nanoparticles.

Magnetic nanoparticles, made of iron oxide, present a peculiar interest for a wide range of biomedical applications for which they are often internalized in cells and then left within. One challenge is to assess their fate in the intracellular environment with reliable and precise methodologies. Herein, we introduce the use of the vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) to precisely quantify the integrity of magnetic nanoparticles within cells by measuring their magnetic moment. Stem cells are first labeled with two types of magnetic nanoparticles; the nanoparticles have the same core produced via a fast and efficient microwave-based nonaqueous sol gel synthesis and differ in their coating: the commonly used citric acid molecule is compared to polyacrylic acid. The formation of 3D cell-spheroids is then achieved via centrifugation and the magnetic moment of these spheroids is measured at different times with the VSM. The obtained moment is a direct fingerprint of the nanoparticles' integrity, with decreasing values indicative of a nanoparticle degradation. For both nanoparticles, the magnetic moment decreases over culture time revealing their biodegradation. A protective effect of the polyacrylic acid coating is also shown, when compared to citric acid.