Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles modified with dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine and their distribution in the brain after injection in the rat substantia nigra

- SPIONs were modified with dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC).
- DMPC-SPIONs were injected into the left substantia nigra of rat brains.
- Most DMPC-SPIONs were distributed in and on the myelin sheath of axons.
- More iron remained in rat brains at 24 h after the injection of DMPC-SPIONs

The subcellular distributions of nanoparticles in the brain are important for their biological application. We synthesized and characterized the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) modified with poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) and polyethylenimine (PEI) (PEG/PEI-SPIONs), and with dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) (DMPC-SPIONs). The nanoparticles were unilaterally injected into the left substantia nigra of rat brains. The distributions of the nanoparticles in the left brains of the rats were examined by ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer) and TEM (transmission electron microscopy) at 24 h after the injection. Iron was found in the olfactory bulb, temporal lobe, frontal cortex, thalamus and brain stem at 24 h after the injection of DMPC-SPIONs and PEG/PEI-SPIONs. In the rat substantia nigra, most DMPC-SPIONs were distributed in and on the myelin sheath around axons or on cell membranes, some were in cells. As a comparison, less iron was found in the rat brains at 24 h after the injection of PEG/PEI-SPIONs. Our experiments suggest DMPC modification on SPIONs be a safe and effective method for increasing SPIONs distribution on the cell membranes. This work is encouraging for further study on using DMPC-SPIONs for efficient drug delivery or for deep brain stimulation of neurons in a magnetic field.

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