A Comparison of Magnetometry and Relaxometry Measures of Magnetic Nanoparticles Deposited in Biological Samples

The Alternating Gradient Field Magnetometer (AGFM) is an instrument whose high sensitivity (10-8 emu) allows the detection of small amounts of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with high accuracy. Over the last few years, different magnetic techniques have been used for in vitro measurements of magnetic nanostructures inside biological tissues. However, in vivo studies about their distribution within the body are very scarce because their dispersion, after being delivered, reduces their magnetic signal and hinders detection. In this paper we compare the longitudinal relaxation time (T1) and magnetization measurements in mice's biological tissues for the tracking of MNPs after of an injection of iron oxide nanoparticles. Furthermore, we have correlated the AGFM data with Fast Field Cycling NMR Relaxometry (FFCNMR Relaxometry) measurements with histological analysis. The results have demonstrated that these techniques are useful for detecting minute amounts of MNPs in excised organs after in-vivo comparable to other more conventional techniques for the measurement of MNPs biodistribution and clearance. Details about the preparation of the in vivo samples, measurement protocol and statistical data processing are given.