Long-range stray field mapping of statically magnetized nanoparticles using magnetoresistive sensor

Abstract

Analyzing the spatial distribution of stray field from magnetic nanoparticles is a crucial step to design and optimize the magnetometric system for a clinical magnetic particle imaging (MPI) scanner. Here, we used a magnetoresistive (MR) sensor to probe the stray field directly from a commercial magnetic nanoparticle suspension conditioned under a static field. For a given 20 mT by a small permanent magnet, the stray field of a liquid sample with a 0.7 mgFe iron mass is in nanotesla order measured by the MR sensor at 50 mm apart from the sample, while the magnetization is comparable to several microtesla. This field decay demands picotesla sensitivity of the sensing system to record the stray field for a further distance or a smaller excitation field. Moreover, from a two-dimensional trajectory of sample and magnet movements relative to the sensor position, we confirmed that the spatial distribution of the stray field appeared to correlate with sample geometry. The distribution became broadening for low iron mass concentration of the sample. From this observation, an MR sensor proves its potential for locating the magnetic nanoparticles under a quasistatic field, which can be extensively implemented for a single-sided MPI scanner.