Structural and Molecular Fusion MRI Nanoprobe for Differential Diagnosis of Malignant Tumors and Follow-Up Chemodynamic Therapy

Enhanced imaging techniques using contrast agents enable high-resolution structural imaging to reveal space-occupying lesions but rarely provide detailed molecular information. To this end, we report a structural and molecular fusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) nanoprobe for differential diagnosis between benign and malignant tumors. This fusion nanoprobe, termed FFT NPs, follows a working mechanism involving a T1-/T2-weighted magnetic resonance tuning effect (MRET) between a magnetic Fe3O4 core and a paramagnetic Fe-tannic acid (Fe-TA) shell. The FFT NPs with an “always-on” inert T2 signal provide structural MRI (sMRI) contrast of tumors while affording an activated T1 signal in the presence of ATP, which is overproduced during the rapid growth of malignant tumors to enable molecular MRI (mMRI) of tumor lesions. We propose the use of the ratiometric mMRI:sMRI intensity to assist in the differential diagnosis of malignant 4T1 tumors from benign L929 fibroblast tumors. Furthermore, the dissociated FFT NPs were found to be able to catalyze H2O2 conversion in 4T1 tumors to generate excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) for chemodynamic therapy. The described fusion nanoprobe strategy enables the differential diagnosis of tumors from a combined spatial and molecular perspective with one-stop MRI imaging with potential applications in precision intervention.