Development and in vitro study of a bi-specific magnetic resonance imaging molecular probe for hepatocellular carcinoma

Figure 1 Flow of cell-based experiments. First, AFP and GPC3 antigen expression on Hepa1-6/GPC3 cells was confirmed by flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry (step 1). Next, the cellular uptake of USPIO probes was investigated by performing Prussian blue-staining assays for iron (step 2). Finally, in vitro MRI was performed, including T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and T2 Map imaging (step 3). HRP: Horseradish peroxidase; PE: Phycoerythrin; Ab: Antibody; USPIO: Ultra-small superparamagnetic iron oxide; MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging; T2WI: T2-weighted imaging.