Biomedical Applications of Metal‐Encapsulated Fullerene Nanoparticles

Abstract

The carbonaceous nanomaterials known as metallofullerenes have attracted considerable attention due to their attractive properties. The robust nature of the "Trojan Horse" fullerene cage provides an important structural component, which isolates the metal cluster from the bioenvironment. The large carbon surface area is ideally suited for multiple exo-functionalization approaches to modify the hydrophobic cage for a more hydrophilic bioenvironment. Additionally, peptides and other agents are readily covalently attached to this nanoprobe for targeting applications. The recent progress in developing metallofullerenes for next-generation biomedical applications is described. Of special interest are magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents. Several recent studies reported cumulative gadolinium deposition in the brain and bones of individuals using commercial clinical MRI contrast agents. Gadolinium-based metallofullerenes provide 2-3 orders of magnitude improvement in MRI relaxivity and potentially lower clinical levels of toxic Gd ions deposited. Other potential biomedical applications are also reviewed herein.

Detecting Chronic Post-Traumatic Osteomyelitis of Mouse Tibia via an IL-13Rα2 Targeted Metallofullerene Magnetic Resonance Imaging Probe

“…In contrast, IL-13R α 2 has been postulated to be a decoy receptor, not responsible for the signal transduction. 19,20 Increased expression of IL-13R α 2 has been reported to promote tumor progression in glioma and other tumor models 23,24,25 and showed a protective role in a mouse model of cutaneous inflammation. 26 However, the expression of IL-13R α 2 has not been investigated in infectious diseases.…”

Fullerenes in biology and medicine

“…13. 130 The recent progress with gadolinium (Gd) based EMFs for biomedical applications is described.…”

The potential biomedical platforms based on the functionalized Gd@C82 nanomaterials

“…21,22 And in recent years, these applications have been extensively investigated due to the high proton relaxivity and low toxicity of Gd@C 82 nanomaterials. [23][24][25][26] To be applied in vivo, gadofullerene was commonly modified by various functional groups, mainly including polyhydroxylated, carboxylated, and PEGylated-hydroxylated modification. [27][28][29] And the differences in the type and number of groups on the surface of fullerene cages can result in different relaxivities.…”