RETRACTED: A magnetic nanoprobe technology for detecting molecular interactions in live cells (Retracted article. See vol. 324, pg. 463, 2009)

Technologies to assess the molecular targets of biomolecules in living cells are lacking. We have developed a technology called magnetism-based interaction capture (MAGIC) that identifies molecular targets on the basis of induced movement of superparamagnetic nanoparticles inside living cells. Efficient intracellular uptake of superparamagnetic nanoparticles (coated with a small molecule of interest) was mediated by a transducible fusogenic peptide. These nanoprobes captured the small molecule's labeled target protein and were translocated in a direction specified by the magnetic field. Use of MAGIC in genome-wide expression screening identified multiple protein targets of a drug. MAGIC was also used to monitor signal-dependent modification and multiple interactions of proteins.