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• Original Article •
Preparation of Fe3O4-PSMA nanomolecular imaging probe for prostate cancer and its magnetic resonance imaging study in tumor-bearing mice
WANG Jing  LIU Shuyi  CUI Yuanlong  TIAN Weili  QING Yuanyuan 

Cite this article as: WANG J, LIU S Y, CUI Y L, et al. Preparation of Fe3O4-PSMA nanomolecular imaging probe for prostate cancer and its magnetic resonance imaging study in tumor-bearing mice[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(10): 142-152, 172. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.10.017.


[Abstract] Objective This study involved the conjugation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles with prostate-specific membrane monoclonal antibody (Anti-PSMA) to fabricate Fe3O4-PSMA magnetic resonance molecular imaging probes. Subsequent evaluation of their biosafety and targeted MRI efficacy was performed to establish experimental evidence for the early diagnosis of prostate cancer.Materials and Methods The Fe3O4 was coupled with PSMA to construct the Fe3O4-PSMA molecular probe. The characteristic functional groups of Fe3O4-PSMA were characterized using a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR) to verify the coupling efficiency. Its morphology was observed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Element analysis was performed via X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The in vitro T2 relaxation rate of the probe was measured. Flow cytometry was employed to assess the effects of 10 μg/mL Fe3O4-PSMA molecular probe on prostate cancer C4-2 cells after 24 and 48 hours of exposure, evaluating its impact on apoptosis. CCK8 assay was conducted to evaluate the effects of varying concentrations (0 to 500 μg/mL) of Fe3O4-PSMA molecular probe on C4-2 cells over 24 hours, assessing its biosafety at the cellular level. We established tumor-bearing mouse models with high PSMA expression in prostate cancer C4-2 cells (experimental group n = 10) and extremely low PSMA expression in prostate cancer PC-3 cells (control group n = 10). After intravenous injection of Fe3O4-PSMA molecular probes into the tail veins, changes in tumor T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) signals and tumor-to-normal tissue signal ratios (TNR) were measured at 2 h, 6 h, and 24 h in both groups. Prussian blue staining was used to visualize probe distribution in tumor tissues and key organs across both groups. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining assessed histopathological morphology differences between tumor tissues in both groups. In vivo pharmacokinetic profiles of the probes were also evaluated. At day 7 post-injection, HE staining, TUNEL assays, and Prussian blue immunohistochemical staining were performed on tissue sections from all organs.Results FT-IR spectroscopic analysis demonstrated successful conjugation of Fe3O4 with the PSMA antibody, with characteristic acylamide absorption peaks observed in the spectrum, including amino skeleton vibration peaks (NH2-st), amino deformation vibration peaks (NH2-δ), carbonyl skeleton vibration peaks (C=O-st), and carbon-nitrogen skeleton vibration peaks (C-N-st). TEM revealed uniform nanoscale size distribution of Fe3O4-PSMA molecules. XPS elemental analysis identified Fe3O4-PSMA as primarily composed of five elements: C, O, N, S, and Fe. The r2 relaxation rate of Fe3O4-PSMA was 15.224 mM-1S-1. Flow cytometry results showed that both 10 μg/mL Fe3O4-PSMA probes induced apoptosis in C4-2 cells after 24 and 48 hours of exposure, with an apoptosis rate of 8.101% ± 0.332% at 24 hours and rising to 29.321% ± 1.561% at 48 hours, indicating a significant increase with prolonged exposure time. Animal experimental results demonstrated that at 6 hours after injection of the Fe3O4-PSMA probe, significant differences were observed in tumor TNR values between the two groups of mice. The TNR values in the experimental group showed progressive decline over time, indicating specific accumulation of the probe in tumor tissue and a marked reduction in T2 signal intensity. Prussian blue staining demonstrated substantial probe enrichment in tumor and renal tissues of the experimental group at 24 hours post-injection, whereas minimal accumulation was observed in the heart, liver, and spleen.Conclusions This study successfully constructed the Fe3O4-PSMA magnetic resonance molecular imaging probe. Within this experimental system, the probe exhibited acceptable short-term biosafety. It can target PSMA-overexpressing prostate cancer xenografts and reduce the T2 signal intensity of lesions, enabling targeted magnetic resonance imaging of prostate cancer in tumor-bearing mouse models. Renal accumulation of the probe was observed. This work provides experimental evidence for early targeted molecular imaging research of prostate.
[Keywords] prostate cancer；Fe₃O₄-PSMA molecular probe；magnetic resonance imaging；mouse；biosafety

WANG Jing1   LIU Shuyi1   CUI Yuanlong1   TIAN Weili1*   QING Yuanyuan2  

1 Department of Medical Imaging, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi 830011, China

2 Chongqing Weistern Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd., Chongqing 400039, China

Corresponding author: TIAN W L, E-mail: 442335032@qq.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2026-05-24
Accepted  2026-09-20
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.10.017
Cite this article as: WANG J, LIU S Y, CUI Y L, et al. Preparation of Fe3O4-PSMA nanomolecular imaging probe for prostate cancer and its magnetic resonance imaging study in tumor-bearing mice[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(10): 142-152, 172. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.10.017.

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