Abstract
Gd2O3 nanoparticles doped with different amount of Yb3+ ions and coated with citrate molecules were prepared by a cheap and fast co-precipitation procedure and proposed as potential “positive” contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging. The citrate was used to improve the aqueous suspension, limiting particles precipitation. The relaxometric properties of the samples were studied in aqueous solution as a function of the magnetic field strength in order to evaluate the interaction of the paramagnetic ions exposed on the surface with the water molecules in proximity. The nanoparticles showed high relaxivity values at a high magnetic field with respect to the clinically used Gd3+-chelates and comparable to those of similar nanosytems. Special attention was also addressed to the investigation of the chemical stability of the nanoparticles in biological fluid (reconstructed human serum) and in the presence of a chelating agent.
Highlights
The magnetic resonance imaging is currently one of the best diagnostic solutions adopted in clinic to identify different kinds of pathologies, due to the intrinsic high spatial resolution associated to the use of low energy radiation
Three different strategies may be followed: (i) the design of novel paramagnetic probes based on less toxic metals (e.g., Mn2+, Fe3+, . . . .), (ii) the optimization of the Gd(III)-chelates to enhance the relaxivity performances; and (iii) the development of nanoparticles containing a large amount of paramagnetic sites, with high relaxivity at magnetic fields used in clinic (1.5–3 Tesla)
Gd2 O3 nanoparticles doped in the framework with different Yb3+ loading were successfully prepared through a fast and reproducible synthetic approach and they were decorated with hydrophilic citrate molecules
Summary
The magnetic resonance imaging is currently one of the best diagnostic solutions adopted in clinic to identify different kinds of pathologies, due to the intrinsic high spatial resolution associated to the use of low energy radiation. The amount of contrast agents required for the analysis is very high (from mM to M) and recently some studies reported on the accumulation of these probes in the cerebral membrane To overcome these problems, three different strategies may be followed: (i) the design of novel paramagnetic probes based on less toxic metals .), (ii) the optimization of the Gd(III)-chelates to enhance the relaxivity performances; and (iii) the development of nanoparticles containing a large amount of paramagnetic sites, with high relaxivity at magnetic fields used in clinic (1.5–3 Tesla) This last strategy is interesting because it favors a lowering of the detection limit of the MRI technique and a reduction of the contrast agent amount to administrate [4]
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