Living cells, such as red blood cells (RBCs) modified with functional micromotors with the aid of ultrasound propulsion and magnetic guidance. Iron oxide nanoparticles are loaded into the RBCs, where their asymmetric distribution within the cells results in a net magnetization, thus enabling magnetic alignment and guidance under acoustic propulsion. The RBC motors display efficient guided and prolonged propulsion in various biological fluids, including undiluted whole blood.

The invention teaches a method of efficiently dewatering a microcapsule slurry to form a water re-suspendable filter cake of microcapsules. The process comprises providing an aqueous slurry of microcapsules dispersed in an aqueous solution; adding an agglomeration agent and dispersing the agglomeration agent into the aqueous slurry; adjusting the pH to a pH level sufficient to agglomerate the dispersed microcapsules; and filtering the aqueous slurry of microcapsules by gravity, vacuum or pressure filtration to thereby form a filter cake of dewatered microcapsules. The agglomeration agent is sodium polyphosphate, sodium tetrapolyphosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, and/or sodium tripolyphosphate; or with anionic microcapsules or coatings even alkaline earth metal salts such as magnesium chloride, calcium chloride or barium chloride, or even aluminum salt such as aluminum chloride.

The present invention is directed generally to eukaryotic cells comprising single-celled organisms that are introduced into the eukaryotic cell through human intervention and which transfer to daughter cells of the eukaryotic cell, and methods of introducing such single-celled organisms into eukaryotic cells. The invention provides single-celled organisms that introduce a phenotype to eukaryotic cells that is maintained in daughter cells. The invention additionally provides eukaryotic cells containing magnetic bacteria. The invention further provides eukaryotic cells engineered with single-celled organisms to allow for multimodal observation of the eukaryotic cells. Each imaging method (or modality) allows the visualization of different aspects of anatomy and physiology, and combining these allows the imager to learn more about the subject being imaged.

Hyperpolarized samples (i.e., samples having fractional spin polarization P of at least 0.1) of a target molecular species are created through spin transfer from hyperpolarized xenon atoms or other source isotopes. Reversible nanoscale solid state contact is achieved between the hyperpolarized xenon atoms and molecules of a target species. The resulting solid state mixture is exposed to conditions of magnetic field and temperature designed to allow or even facilitate transfer of spin polarization from the xenon to the target molecules. The xenon and the target species are then separated under conditions that substantially preserve the polarization of the target species. The hyperpolarized target species can then be introduced into a subject of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment.

Hyperpolarized samples (i.e., samples having fractional spin polarization P of at least 0.1) of a target molecular species are created through spin transfer from hyperpolarized xenon atoms or other source isotopes. Reversible nanoscale solid state contact is achieved between the hyperpolarized xenon atoms and molecules of a target species. The resulting solid state mixture is exposed to conditions of magnetic field and temperature designed to allow or even facilitate transfer of spin polarization from the xenon to the target molecules. The xenon and the target species are then separated under conditions that substantially preserve the polarization of the target species. The hyperpolarized target species can then be introduced into a subject of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment.

Nanoparticles for use as magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents are described. The nanoparticles are made up of a polymeric support and a manganese-oxo or manganese-iron-oxo cluster having magnetic properties suitable of a contrast agent. The manganese-oxo clusters may be Mn-12 clusters, which have known characteristics of a single molecule magnet. The polymer support may form a core particle which is coated by the clusters, or the clusters may be dispersed within the polymeric agent.

A synthetic calcium phosphate-based biomedical material comprising gadolinium. The material may comprises a compound having the general chemical formula: Ca.sub.10yGd.sub.y(PO.sub.4).sub.6x(SiO.sub.4)x(OH).sub.2c+y where 0<x<1.3 and 0<y<1.3.

Provided are a SAMiRNA-magnetic nanoparticle complex capable of effectively delivering a double-stranded oligo RNA and magnetic nanoparticles into a cell and a composition capable of simultaneously performing diagnosis and therapy of diseases such as cancer, and the like, containing the same. More specifically, provided is the SAMiRNA-magnetic nanoparticle complex consisting of double-stranded oligo RNA-polymer structures in which a hydrophilic material and a second hydrophobic material are bound to the double-stranded oligo RNA by a simple covalent bond or a linker-mediated covalent bond, and the magnetic nanoparticles in which a first hydrophobic material is bound onto a surface of the magnetic material, as a core. The SAMiRNA-magnetic nanoparticle complex may have a homogeneous size by a hydrophobic interaction between the first hydrophobic material of the present invention and the second hydrophobic material of the double-stranded oligo RNA structure. In addition, the hydrophilic material and the second hydrophobic material bound to the double-stranded oligo RNA structure may improve in vivo stability of the double-stranded oligo RNA, an additionally bound ligand may deliver the SAMiRNA-magnetic nanoparticle complex into a target cell even at a relative low concentration of dosage, and the magnetic materials of the magnetic nanoparticles may be used as an imaging agent for diagnosis.

Disclosed are carriers for drugs and/or MR imaging agents having a lipid bilayer shell comprising a phospholipid having two terminal alkyl chains, one being a short chain having a chain length of at most seven carbon atoms, the other being a long chain having a chain length of at least fifteen carbon atoms. The mixed long/short chain phospholipids serve to tune the release properties of the carrier. Preferred phospholipids are phosphatidylcholines.

The present invention provides derivatized magnetic nanoparticles, methods for making such nanoparticles, and methods for their use.