A dual mode targeting probe for distinguishing HER2-positive breast cancer cells using silica-coated fluorescent magnetic nanoparticles

We report a composite nanoprobe based on silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) for distinguishing breast cancers at different HER2 statuses. The nanoprobe has a core–shell structure, with Fe₃O₄ NPs as the magnetic core and dye-embedded silica as the fluorescent shell, whose average size is about 150 nm. Besides, the outmost surfaces of the probes were modified with specific antibodies to endow the probe with a targeting ability. With such a structure, the nanoprobe can accomplish dual mode targeting of human breast cancer cells based on fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In the experiments, three human breast cancer cell lines were used to test the targeting ability of the nanoprobe. Specifically, SKBR3 cells with a high HER2 expression level were used as the model target cells, while MCF7 cells with a lower HER2 expression levels and HER2-negative MDA-MB-231 cells were used as the controls. Both the fluorescence and MRI imaging results confirmed that the nanoprobe can distinguish three cancer cell lines with different HER2 expression levels. With the dual mode imaging and specific targeting properties, we anticipate that the presented nanoprobe may have a great potential in the diagnosis and treatment of cancerous diseases.