Topics in Current Chemistry (2020) 378:40
1 3
5 Conclusions
Recent advances in nanotechnology applied to biomedical research have made possible the development of a new generation of magnetic nanomaterials with great
potential as MRI CAs. IONPs stand out due to their excellent combination of properties for in vivo applications, that is, their superparamagnetism along with their high
biocompatibility. Also, advanced functionalization strategies have allowed these
IONPs to be specifically targeted to different tissues or cells to perform molecular
imaging. However, in spite of all these advances, and the large number of studies
carried out in this field, very little clinical translation has been achieved so far. The
main reasons behind this relative failure are very likely related to reproducibility
and scalability issues during the synthesis process, which must be further improved.
Also, in vivo studies must be thoroughly designed to include comprehensive toxicity
assays and preclinical imaging studies using appropriate animal models.
Acknowledgements Ashish Avasthi thanks the Marie Curie COFUND program for her PhD scholarship
(NanoMedPhD, Grant agreement 713721). Financial support was provided by the Spanish Ministry of
Science, Innovation and Universities (CTQ2017-86655-R) to María Luisa García-Martín and Manuel
Pernia Leal. Manuel Pernia Leal also thanks the “V Plan Propio” of the University of Seville for his Postdoctoral Fellowship.
References
1. García-Martín ML, López-Larrubia P (2018) Preclinical MRI: methods and protocols, vol 1718.
Methods in molecular biology. Springer, New York
2. Xie W, Guo Z, Gao F, Gao Q, Wang D, Liaw B-s, Cai Q, Sun X, Wang X, Zhao L (2018) Shape-,
size- and structure-controlled synthesis and biocompatibility of iron oxide nanoparticles for magnetic theranostics. Theranostics 8(12):3284–3307. https ://doi.org/10.7150/thno.25220
3. Leong HS, Butler KS, Brinker CJ, Azzawi M, Conlan S, Dufés C, Owen A, Rannard S, Scott C,
Chen C, Dobrovolskaia MA, Kozlov SV, Prina-Mello A, Schmid R, Wick P, Caputo F, Boisseau
P, Crist RM, McNeil SE, Fadeel B, Tran L, Hansen SF, Hartmann NB, Clausen LPW, Skjolding
LM, Baun A, Ågerstrand M, Gu Z, Lamprou DA, Hoskins C, Huang L, Song W, Cao H, Liu X,
Jandt KD, Jiang W, Kim BYS, Wheeler KE, Chetwynd AJ, Lynch I, Moghimi SM, Nel A, Xia T,
Weiss PS, Sarmento B, das Neves J, Santos HA, Santos L, Mitragotri S, Little S, Peer D, Amiji
MM, Alonso MJ, Petri-Fink A, Balog S, Lee A, Drasler B, Rothen-Rutishauser B, Wilhelm S, Acar
H, Harrison RG, Mao C, Mukherjee P, Ramesh R, McNally LR, Busatto S, Wolfram J, Bergese
P, Ferrari M, Fang RH, Zhang L, Zheng J, Peng C, Du B, Yu M, Charron DM, Zheng G, Pastore C (2019) On the issue of transparency and reproducibility in nanomedicine. Nat Nanotechnol
14(7):629–635. https ://doi.org/10.1038/s4156 5-019-0496-9
4. Wu W, He Q, Jiang C (2008) Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles: synthesis and surface functionalization strategies. Nanosc Res Lett 3(11):397–415. https ://doi.org/10.1007/s1167 1-008-9174-9
5. Zhi D, Yang T, Yang J, Fu S, Zhang S (2020) Targeting strategies for superparamagnetic iron
oxide nanoparticles in cancer therapy. Acta Biomater 102:13–34. https ://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbi
o.2019.11.027
6. Ventola CL (2017) Progress in nanomedicine: approved and investigational nanodrugs. Pharm
Therap 42(12):742–755
7. Massart R (1981) Preparation of aqueous magnetic liquids in alkaline and acidic media. IEEE
Trans Magn 17(2):1247–1248. https ://doi.org/10.1109/TMAG.1981.10611 88
8. Le Fort J (1852) C R Acad Sci Paris 34:480
74
Reprinted from the journal
1 3
5 Conclusions
Recent advances in nanotechnology applied to biomedical research have made possible the development of a new generation of magnetic nanomaterials with great
potential as MRI CAs. IONPs stand out due to their excellent combination of properties for in vivo applications, that is, their superparamagnetism along with their high
biocompatibility. Also, advanced functionalization strategies have allowed these
IONPs to be specifically targeted to different tissues or cells to perform molecular
imaging. However, in spite of all these advances, and the large number of studies
carried out in this field, very little clinical translation has been achieved so far. The
main reasons behind this relative failure are very likely related to reproducibility
and scalability issues during the synthesis process, which must be further improved.
Also, in vivo studies must be thoroughly designed to include comprehensive toxicity
assays and preclinical imaging studies using appropriate animal models.
Acknowledgements Ashish Avasthi thanks the Marie Curie COFUND program for her PhD scholarship
(NanoMedPhD, Grant agreement 713721). Financial support was provided by the Spanish Ministry of
Science, Innovation and Universities (CTQ2017-86655-R) to María Luisa García-Martín and Manuel
Pernia Leal. Manuel Pernia Leal also thanks the “V Plan Propio” of the University of Seville for his Postdoctoral Fellowship.
References
1. García-Martín ML, López-Larrubia P (2018) Preclinical MRI: methods and protocols, vol 1718.
Methods in molecular biology. Springer, New York
2. Xie W, Guo Z, Gao F, Gao Q, Wang D, Liaw B-s, Cai Q, Sun X, Wang X, Zhao L (2018) Shape-,
size- and structure-controlled synthesis and biocompatibility of iron oxide nanoparticles for magnetic theranostics. Theranostics 8(12):3284–3307. https ://doi.org/10.7150/thno.25220
3. Leong HS, Butler KS, Brinker CJ, Azzawi M, Conlan S, Dufés C, Owen A, Rannard S, Scott C,
Chen C, Dobrovolskaia MA, Kozlov SV, Prina-Mello A, Schmid R, Wick P, Caputo F, Boisseau
P, Crist RM, McNeil SE, Fadeel B, Tran L, Hansen SF, Hartmann NB, Clausen LPW, Skjolding
LM, Baun A, Ågerstrand M, Gu Z, Lamprou DA, Hoskins C, Huang L, Song W, Cao H, Liu X,
Jandt KD, Jiang W, Kim BYS, Wheeler KE, Chetwynd AJ, Lynch I, Moghimi SM, Nel A, Xia T,
Weiss PS, Sarmento B, das Neves J, Santos HA, Santos L, Mitragotri S, Little S, Peer D, Amiji
MM, Alonso MJ, Petri-Fink A, Balog S, Lee A, Drasler B, Rothen-Rutishauser B, Wilhelm S, Acar
H, Harrison RG, Mao C, Mukherjee P, Ramesh R, McNally LR, Busatto S, Wolfram J, Bergese
P, Ferrari M, Fang RH, Zhang L, Zheng J, Peng C, Du B, Yu M, Charron DM, Zheng G, Pastore C (2019) On the issue of transparency and reproducibility in nanomedicine. Nat Nanotechnol
14(7):629–635. https ://doi.org/10.1038/s4156 5-019-0496-9
4. Wu W, He Q, Jiang C (2008) Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles: synthesis and surface functionalization strategies. Nanosc Res Lett 3(11):397–415. https ://doi.org/10.1007/s1167 1-008-9174-9
5. Zhi D, Yang T, Yang J, Fu S, Zhang S (2020) Targeting strategies for superparamagnetic iron
oxide nanoparticles in cancer therapy. Acta Biomater 102:13–34. https ://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbi
o.2019.11.027
6. Ventola CL (2017) Progress in nanomedicine: approved and investigational nanodrugs. Pharm
Therap 42(12):742–755
7. Massart R (1981) Preparation of aqueous magnetic liquids in alkaline and acidic media. IEEE
Trans Magn 17(2):1247–1248. https ://doi.org/10.1109/TMAG.1981.10611 88
8. Le Fort J (1852) C R Acad Sci Paris 34:480
74
Reprinted from the journal