Figure 1.

Schematic illustration of the synthesis procedure for VCAM-1-targeted Fe₃O₄@SiO₂(FITC) nanoparticles. (A) Fe₃O₄@SiO₂(FITC) nanoparticles were synthesized by reverse microemulsion. (B) The coupling agent APS was used to continue the reaction to form Fe₃O₄@SiO₂(FITC)-NH₂ in acetic acid; surface modification of the phycoerythrin-labeled anti-VCAM-1 monoclonal antibody resulted in VCAM-1-targeted Fe₃O₄@SiO₂(FITC) nanoparticles.

Abbreviations: Fe₃O₄@SiO₂(FITC), fluorescein isothiocyanate-loaded silica-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles; VCAM-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1; TEOS, tetraethylorthosilicate; NPs, nanoparticles; EDC, N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide; NHS, N-hydroxysuccinimide.