Ultrahigh-Resolution Visualization of Vascular Heterogeneity in Brain Tumors via Magnetic Nanoparticles-Enhanced Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging

The precise assessment of vascular heterogeneity in brain tumors is vital for diagnosing, grading, predicting progression, and guiding treatment decisions. However, currently, there is a significant shortage of high-resolution imaging approaches. Herein, we propose a contrast-enhanced susceptibility-weighted imaging (CE-SWI) utilizing the minimalist dextran-modified Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (Dextran@Fe₃O₄ NPs) for ultrahigh-resolution mapping of vasculature in brain tumors. The Dextran@Fe₃O₄ NPs are prepared via a facile coprecipitation method under room temperature, and exhibit small hydrodynamic size (28 nm), good solubility, excellent biocompatibility, and high transverse relaxivity (r₂*, 159.7 mM^-1 s^-1) under 9.4 T magnetic field. The Dextran@Fe₃O₄ NPs-enhanced SWI can increase the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of cerebral vessels to 2.5 times that before injection and achieves ultrahigh-spatial-resolution visualization of microvessels as small as 0.1 mm in diameter. This advanced imaging capability not only allows for the detailed mapping of both enlarged peritumoral drainage vessels and the intratumoral microvessels, but also facilitates the sensitive imaging detection of vascular permeability deterioration in a C6 cells-bearing rat glioblastoma model. Our proposed Dextran@Fe₃O₄ NPs-enhanced SWI provides a powerful imaging technique with great clinical translation potential for the precise theranostics of brain tumors.