Detection of magnetic nanoparticles in tissue using magneto-motive DP-OCT

We demonstrate the capability of differential-phase optical coherence tomography (DP-OCT) to detect superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles taken up by liver parenchymeal macrophages (Kupffer cells). We apply an external time-varying high-intensity focused magnetic field. Our experiments demonstrate a novel diagnostic modality to detect macrophages that have taken up SPIO nanoparticles. Magnetic force acting on the nanoparticles was varied by applying a sinusoidal current to a solenoid containing a conical iron core that substantially increased and focused the magnetic field strength (B_max = 2 Tesla). ApoE^% mice were sacrificed 2 days post intravenous injections of different SPIO doses (1.0, and 0.1 mmol Fe/kg body weight). Livers of ApoE^% mice with and without injection of SPIO nanoparticles were investigated using DP-OCT, which detects tissue movement with nanometer resolution. Frequency response of iron-laden liver movement was twice the stimulus frequency. Movement was not observed in livers of control mice. Results of our experiments indicate DP-OCT is a candidate methodology to detect tissue based macrophages containing SPIO nanoparticles excited by an external focused magnetic field.