Imaging Early Endothelial Inflammation Following Strokeby Core Shell Silica Superparamagnetic Glyconanoparticles That TargetSelectin.

Activationof the endothelium is a pivotal first step for leukocytemigration into the diseased brain. Consequently, imaging this activationprocess is highly desirable. We synthesized carbohydrate-functionalizedmagnetic nanoparticles that bind specifically to the endothelial transmembraneinflammatory proteins E and P selectin. Magnetic resonance imagingrevealed that the targeted nanoparticles accumulated in the brainvasculature following acute administration into a clinically relevantanimal model of stroke, though increases in selectin expression wereobserved in both brain hemispheres. Nonfunctionalized naked particlesalso appear to be a plausible agent to target the ischemic vasculature.The importance of these findings is discussed regarding the potentialfor translation into the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]