Biodistribution of magnetic nanoparticles in pregnant rats and in their newborns

• Grant number: 18/14260-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2019
• End date: February 29, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Maternal and Child Health
• Principal Investigator: Débora Cristina Damasceno
• Grantee: Vinícius Soares Barco
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FMB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In addition to the physiological changes that occur during pregnancy, several diseases can affect the pregnant woman, causing numerous damages to her and her fetus. There are also several complications in the treatment of diseases during this period. Then, in the attempt to increase the efficiency in the treatment of diseases, the use of magnetic nanoparticles have attracted great attention of the scientific community due to its great potential thermostatic. Therefore, the objective of this project is to evaluate the biodistribution profile of magnetic nanoparticles of iron oxide in Sprague Dawley rats at different stages of pregnancy and in their fetuses. Randomly distributed pregnant rats will be used in four groups (n = 5) based on the day of pregnancy in which the biodistribution of magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) will be evaluated: control group (not pregnant), group D7 (with administration of MNP on day 7 of pregnancy), group D14 (with 14 days of pregnancy) and group D21 (with 21 days of pregnancy). After this procedure, the animals will be anesthetized and killed to obtain blood samples. Next, laparotomy of rats, removal and storage of target organs and collection of newborns for collection of blood, liver and brain will be performed. The maternal and fetal organs obtained will be stored for evaluation of the biodistribution of MNP. This project is innovative, has great potential in the nanotechnology area and could trigger significant advances in the applications and safety of nano-structured systems, generating a significant impact on the possible diagnosis and treatment of diseases and optimization of therapeutic techniques.