A liver-targeting magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle-based dual-modality probe for PET/MR imaging of liver tumor

Positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MR) imaging combines the advantages of MR imaging with PET, provides more diagnostic information than single imaging modality. Asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) is abundantly expressed in the liver and has already been applied as a target for the hepatic imaging. Here we developed a Fe3O4 nanoparticle (NP)-based dual-modality probe targeting ASGPR for tumor PET/MR imaging. The dual-modality imaging probe was constructed by branched polyethyleneimine (PEI)-coated Fe3O4 NPs attached with N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) derivatives and NOTA chelator, followed by radiolabeling with 68Ga. PET imaging results demonstrated that 68Ga-FPGN displayed high levels of uptake in the normal liver tissue and no or low uptake in tumors in situ. 68Ga-FPGN exhibited T2-weighted MRI, which reduced the T2 signal of normal liver tissue and enhance the visualization of tumor area. Our study proved the viability of 68Ga-FPGN as a novel PET/MR dual-modal probe for liver tumors imaging.