Immunogenicity of bioactive magnetic nanoparticles: natural and acquired antibodies.

Uniform magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) were prepared by nucleation followed by controlled growth of maghemite thin films onto porcine gelatin nuclei. The formed gelatin containing MNP (Gel-MNP) were then coated with dextran (Gel-MNP-Dex) followed by human serum albumin (Gel-MNP-Dex-HSA). Since these MNP are designated for clinical applications, studies concerning the immunogenicity of their antigenic components (porcine gelatin, dextran, and HSA) have been performed in BALB-C mice. These studies demonstrated that plasma of nonimmunized mice already contains basal levels of natural antibodies against all of these antigenic components. This work also demonstrated that the conjugated gelatin is a weak immunogen: Intraperitoneal injection of the various MNP (Gel-MNP, Gel-MNP-Dex dispersed in PBS emulsified with Incomplete Freund's Adjuvant (IFA) mineral oil and Gel-MNP-Dex-HSA dispersed in PBS) did not increase significantly the acquired anti-gelatin antibody titers. Exceptional behavior was observed following immunization with Gel-MNP-Dex-HSA dispersed in PBS emulsified with IFA, which exhibited an adjuvant effect and turned gelatin into a stronger immunogen. In contrast to gelatin, the conjugated HSA and dextran were found to be strong immunogens. The possibility that the various MNP will not induce an autoimmune response as a result of their clinical use is discussed in the contest of the protective role of the natural antibodies.