Multichannel Magnetorelaxometry In Vivo Monitoring of Magnetic Nanoparticle Quantity for Thermal Ablation Studies

To inactivate cancer cells with minimal side-effects to the normal tissue, cancer therapy as magnetic thermal ablation utilizes superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MNP) injected into the tumor. When exposed to an externally applied alternating magnetic field MNP generate heat, which deactivates cellular processes or even generates lethal thermal doses. Hence, the intratumoral quantity of MNP needs to be thoroughly controlled to govern adequate heat production in the carcinoma region. Here, we investigate the capability of multichannel magnetorelaxometry (MRX) for quantitative measurement of MNP accumulation in the tumor region performed in vivo on a carcinoma mouse, and moreover, the feasibility of quantitative long-term monitoring of MNP amount in a conscious, freely moving mouse.