▲ (from the left) Professor Chan-Gi Pack and Professor Jun Ki Kim

Iron oxide nanoparticles used for drug delivery interact with cellular organelles after entering cells, undergoing various changes and destruction processes. A team led by Professor Chan-Gi Pack and Professor Jun Ki Kim from the Department of Convergence Medicine at Asan Medical Center recently identified specific conditions under which cell apoptosis can be induced through the entry and destruction processes of iron oxide nanoparticles.

By combining super-resolution confocal microscopy, electron microscopy, and high-sensitivity fluorescence detection technology, the research team analyzed the change in location and decomposition process of intracellular iron oxide nanoparticles over time at a single cell level. The findings showed that once inside the cell, iron oxide nanoparticles concentrate around the cell nucleus over time and are subsequently destroyed by inducing autophagy. When combined with ascorbic acid, apoptosis was found to occur through ferroptosis.

Previously, conventional simple fluorescence imaging could only analyze fragmented intracellular collective distribution. However, the newly adopted three high-sensitivity and super-resolution analysis systems can track intracellular nanoparticles at a single cell level to accurately reveal intracellular changes, such as apoptosis, under specific conditions. In the future, the system is expected to provide optimal conditions for the tailored design of various drug-delivery nanoparticles.

The research findings were recently published and featured on the cover of ‘Nano Today,’ a prestigious journal in nanoscience and technology.