Development of a New Molecular Probe for the Detection of Inflammatory Process

With the aim of developing an imaging tool for detecting and localizing inflammation, iron oxide-based contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were synthesized and targeted to E-selectin; an endothelial protein that is overexpressed at early stages of inflammation. Iron oxide nanoparticles were thus linked to a synthetic E-selectin ligand (sialyl Lewis X) mimetic. The soobtained molecular MRI contrast agent was physico-chemically characterized and tested on cell cultures expressing E-selectin. Those stable and wellcharacterized iron oxide nanoparticles showed significant signs of E-selectin specificity.