Comparative toxicity and contrast enhancing assessments of Gd2O3@BSA and MnO2@BSA nanoparticles for MR imaging of brain glioma.

ABSTRACT

The albumin-templated Gd2O3 and MnO2 nanoparticles (NPs) have been developed as a new type of magnetic resonance (MR) T1 contrast agents. However, their potential toxicity and applicability for MR imaging of brain gliomas has not been fully explored so far. In this study, we prepared Gd2O3@BSA and MnO2@BSA nanoparticles (NPs) and investigated their toxicity comprehensively and comparatively by H&E staining, blood biochemical analysis, and adverse outcome pathways testing. It is revealed that both Gd2O3@BSA and MnO2@BSA NPs are biocompatible at a rational dose level. Although the relaxivity of MnO2@BSA NPs is less than that of Gd2O3@BSA NPs, the MnO2@BSA NPs lead to a greater contrast enhancement in the brain glioma due to the controlled release of Mn ions under the acidic tumor microenvironmental conditions. These comparative toxicity and contrast enhancement data are of fundamental importance for the clinical translation of Gd2O3@BSA and MnO2@BSA NPs as MR contrast agents for brain glioma diagnosis.