International Journal on Magnetic Particle Imaging IJMPI
Vol. 12 No. 1 (2026): Int J Mag Part Imag
https://doi.org/10.18416/IJMPI.2026.2607001

Research Articles, ID 1006

Magnetic Particle Spectroscopy for Breast Cancer Detection via AS1411–Nucleolin Targeting

Main Article Content

Hafiz Ashfaq Ahmad (Department of AI Convergence, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), South Korea), Ali Dinari (Jagiellonian University, ul. S. Lojasiewicza 11, 30-348, Krakow, Poland), Seungjun Oh (Department of AI Convergence, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, South Korea), Jungwon Yoon (Department of AI Convergence, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, South Korea), Masoud Rezaie (Department of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, 30-387 Cracow, Poland)

Copyright (c) 2026 Hafiz Ashfaq Ahmad, Ali Dinari, Seungjun Oh, Jungwon Yoon, Masoud Rezaie

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS) offers a rapid, wash-free means to transduce biomolecular binding into quantitative signals through Brownian-mobility changes of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). This study presents an MPS bioassay for breast cancer detection using aptamer AS1411-functionalized, carboxylated iron-oxide nanoparticles that recognize nucleolin (a breast-cancer marker). A dual-stage scheme is implemented: (i) probe formation using EDC/NHS coupling of amine-terminated AS1411; (ii) secondary recognition of nucleolin. Conjugation was verified by DLS (hydrodynamic size increase; PDI < 0.30), and iron content was equalized by ICP-MS to ensure that MPS signals reflect conjugation. Primary conjugation produced monotonic attenuation of odd harmonics with aptamer density, with the third harmonic showing the most significant change (-67.0% vs plain MNPs). Secondary recognition yielded additional, concentration-dependent declines (-59.9% at 100 nM vs MNP-aptamer baseline). MPS thus offers a robust, label-free readout with real-time acquisition and practical thresholds for breast-cancer markers, supporting clinical validation and portable point-of-care use.


Int. J. Mag. Part. Imag. 12(1), 2026, Article ID: 2607001, DOI: 10.18416/IJMPI.2026.2607001

Article Details

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