Non-invasive measurement and imaging of tissue iron oxide nanoparticle concentrations in vivo using proton relaxometry

Magnetic nanoparticles and microparticles can be found in biological tissues for a variety of reasons including pathological deposition of biogenic particles, administration of synthetic particles for scientific or clinical reasons, and the inclusion of biogenic magnetic particles for the sensing of the geomagnetic field. In applied magnetic fields, the magnetisation of tissue protons can be manipulated with radiofrequency radiation such that the macroscopic magnetisation of the protons precesses freely in the plane perpendicular to the applied static field. The presence of magnetic particles within tissue enhances the rate of dephasing of proton precession with higher concentrations of particles resulting in higher dephasing rates. Magnetic resonance imaging instruments can be used to measure and image the rate of decay of spin echo recoverable proton transverse magnetisation (R₂) within tissues enabling the measurement and imaging of magnetic particle concentrations with the aid of suitable calibration curves. Applications include the non-invasive measurement of liver iron concentrations in iron-overload disorders and measurement and imaging of magnetic particle concentrations used in magnetic hyperthermia therapy. Future applications may include the tracking of magnetically labelled drugs or biomolecules and the measurement of fibrotic liver damage.