In Vitro Studies on the Uptake of Ion-X-Gel Precursor and SPIO by Various Cell Types
(2014) MOBN19 20132Degree Projects in Molecular Biology
- Abstract
- Abstract
Contrast agents for MRI can greatly improve the contrast in the image, making it easier to pinpoint the position of, for example, inflamed tissues or tumors. There is a need for novel contrast agents with better spatial resolution, higher sensitivity, fewer false positives and lower toxicity. As for all pharmaceuticals, it is important to thoroughly test the compound prior to clinical applications.
The contrast agent IXG, currently under development by Spago Imaging AB, was analyzed in vitro for cellular uptake and toxicity. In order not to complicate future patents, a precursor was used. Viability analysis of HepG2, L929, RAW264.7 and Jurkat cells showed no apparent toxicity at concentrations above what is clinically... (More) - Abstract
Contrast agents for MRI can greatly improve the contrast in the image, making it easier to pinpoint the position of, for example, inflamed tissues or tumors. There is a need for novel contrast agents with better spatial resolution, higher sensitivity, fewer false positives and lower toxicity. As for all pharmaceuticals, it is important to thoroughly test the compound prior to clinical applications.
The contrast agent IXG, currently under development by Spago Imaging AB, was analyzed in vitro for cellular uptake and toxicity. In order not to complicate future patents, a precursor was used. Viability analysis of HepG2, L929, RAW264.7 and Jurkat cells showed no apparent toxicity at concentrations above what is clinically relevant, while HUVEC cells were more affected. Cellular uptake was analyzed by ICP-AES and complemented with immunocytochemical staining.
An internalization of IXGp was seen in RAW264.7 cells and possibly, but not confirmed in Jurkat cells, but only when the cells were incubated with high concentrations. No uptake could be proven in HUVEC, HepG2 and L929 cells. The findings in this report can help in forming hypothesis on how IXG behaves in in vivo and may be useful for further developing the nanomaterial. (Less) - Abstract
- Popular science summary:
The Battle Against Cancer
Daily, people are diagnosed with cancer, a disease that brings suffering and despair. I'm sure you have heard about chemotherapy and radiation as a way of trying to treat cancer, but it is equally important to find an effective method to quickly and reliably detect a tumor at an early stage, before it is too late. In my master's thesis, I tested how cells interacted with a particle that may provide a much more reliable way of detecting tumors.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI is a technique based on quantum mechanical movements, magnetism and radio waves. Simply put, a machine creates a contrast image of the body. Sometimes, the contrast is not good enough and we want a way to... (More) - Popular science summary:
The Battle Against Cancer
Daily, people are diagnosed with cancer, a disease that brings suffering and despair. I'm sure you have heard about chemotherapy and radiation as a way of trying to treat cancer, but it is equally important to find an effective method to quickly and reliably detect a tumor at an early stage, before it is too late. In my master's thesis, I tested how cells interacted with a particle that may provide a much more reliable way of detecting tumors.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI is a technique based on quantum mechanical movements, magnetism and radio waves. Simply put, a machine creates a contrast image of the body. Sometimes, the contrast is not good enough and we want a way to increase the difference between a tumor and normal tissues. One way of doing this is to inject a so called contrast agent into the blood stream. The compound locates to the tumor, where it increases the contrast. Spago Imaging AB, a company in Lund, is currently developing a new contrast agent called Ion-X-Gel, with potential to be more reliable than currently used contrast agents. In my project, I tested how cells interacted with a precursor to Ion-X-Gel, IXGp.
Before you can use any new medical compound, you need to make sure that it is not dangerous and works the way you want. Ideally, the contrast agent should stay in the blood until it reaches the tumor, so a good test would be to treat cells with IXGp and see if they will "eat" the particle.
Before this, I needed to make sure that the Ion-X-Gel precursor did not negatively affect the cells. I did this by incubating the cells with IXGp and then compare the metabolic activity of cells with or without particles. Once I saw that the cells were okay, and IXGp did not negatively affect them, I wanted to make sure that the cells wouldn't "eat" the particles.
I also needed a way of knowing if the cells were able to "swallow" particles in general, because if I didn't find any contrast agents in the cells it could either mean that specifically IXGp can not be "eaten" by cells or that these particular type of cells do not "swallow" particles in general. So, I needed some kind of positive control, a particle that was known to be "eaten" by cells. An old type of contrast agent, iron oxide was the choice for me. I first tested that the cells were not negatively affected, which they were not. Then I gave the cells some iron particles, waited 24 hours and
looked at the cells. Indeed, the cells had swallowed the particles.
Okay, now I knew that my cells had the ability to "swallow" particles in general, that my methods worked and I also knew that the IXGp were not toxic to the cells. It was time to move on to the final phase in my master's thesis, to test if the Ion-X-Gel precursor were constructed in a way that it would not be "eaten" by cells.
I added the particles to my cells, waited 24 hours and sent them for analysis to determine IXGp concentration in them. The moment of truth was near. I was very excited. And when the results came... The news were good! Indeed only very few cells had internalized the precursor of this novel contrast agent, Ion-X-Gel. This was very valuable information for Spago Imaging AB, which they may use to further
improve their contrast agent and continue the battle against cancer.
Supervisor: Emil Aaltonen
Master´s Degree Project, 45 credits in Molecular Genetics, 2014
Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4407422
- author
- Lundqvist, Hampus
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MOBN19 20132
- year
- 2014
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 4407422
- date added to LUP
- 2014-04-28 13:33:47
- date last changed
- 2014-04-29 09:08:57
@misc{4407422,
abstract = {{Popular science summary:
The Battle Against Cancer
Daily, people are diagnosed with cancer, a disease that brings suffering and despair. I'm sure you have heard about chemotherapy and radiation as a way of trying to treat cancer, but it is equally important to find an effective method to quickly and reliably detect a tumor at an early stage, before it is too late. In my master's thesis, I tested how cells interacted with a particle that may provide a much more reliable way of detecting tumors.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI is a technique based on quantum mechanical movements, magnetism and radio waves. Simply put, a machine creates a contrast image of the body. Sometimes, the contrast is not good enough and we want a way to increase the difference between a tumor and normal tissues. One way of doing this is to inject a so called contrast agent into the blood stream. The compound locates to the tumor, where it increases the contrast. Spago Imaging AB, a company in Lund, is currently developing a new contrast agent called Ion-X-Gel, with potential to be more reliable than currently used contrast agents. In my project, I tested how cells interacted with a precursor to Ion-X-Gel, IXGp.
Before you can use any new medical compound, you need to make sure that it is not dangerous and works the way you want. Ideally, the contrast agent should stay in the blood until it reaches the tumor, so a good test would be to treat cells with IXGp and see if they will "eat" the particle.
Before this, I needed to make sure that the Ion-X-Gel precursor did not negatively affect the cells. I did this by incubating the cells with IXGp and then compare the metabolic activity of cells with or without particles. Once I saw that the cells were okay, and IXGp did not negatively affect them, I wanted to make sure that the cells wouldn't "eat" the particles.
I also needed a way of knowing if the cells were able to "swallow" particles in general, because if I didn't find any contrast agents in the cells it could either mean that specifically IXGp can not be "eaten" by cells or that these particular type of cells do not "swallow" particles in general. So, I needed some kind of positive control, a particle that was known to be "eaten" by cells. An old type of contrast agent, iron oxide was the choice for me. I first tested that the cells were not negatively affected, which they were not. Then I gave the cells some iron particles, waited 24 hours and
looked at the cells. Indeed, the cells had swallowed the particles.
Okay, now I knew that my cells had the ability to "swallow" particles in general, that my methods worked and I also knew that the IXGp were not toxic to the cells. It was time to move on to the final phase in my master's thesis, to test if the Ion-X-Gel precursor were constructed in a way that it would not be "eaten" by cells.
I added the particles to my cells, waited 24 hours and sent them for analysis to determine IXGp concentration in them. The moment of truth was near. I was very excited. And when the results came... The news were good! Indeed only very few cells had internalized the precursor of this novel contrast agent, Ion-X-Gel. This was very valuable information for Spago Imaging AB, which they may use to further
improve their contrast agent and continue the battle against cancer.
Supervisor: Emil Aaltonen
Master´s Degree Project, 45 credits in Molecular Genetics, 2014
Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden}},
author = {{Lundqvist, Hampus}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{In Vitro Studies on the Uptake of Ion-X-Gel Precursor and SPIO by Various Cell Types}},
year = {{2014}},
}