Iron Embedded Magnetic Nanodiamonds for in vivo MRI Contrast Enhancement

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the first in vivo MRI contrast enhancement using iron-embedded magnetic nanodiamonds, enabling improved non-invasive imaging and potential biomedical applications.

Contribution

Introduces the novel use of iron embedded magnetic nanodiamonds for in vivo MRI contrast enhancement, demonstrated on mice with clear T2-weighted image improvements.

Findings

Effective MR image contrast in mice using nanodiamonds

First in vivo application of magnetic nanodiamonds for MRI

Potential for multifunctional biomedical applications

Abstract

Although nanodiamonds have long being considered as a potential tool for biomedical research, the practical in vivo application of nanodiamonds remains relatively unexplored. In this paper, we present the first application of in vivo MRI contrast enhancement using only iron embedded magnetic nanodiamonds. MR image enhancement was clearly demonstrated in the rendering of T2-weighted images of mice obtained using an unmodified commercial MRI scanner. The excellent contrast obtained using these nanodiamonds opens the door to the non-invasive in vivo tracking of NDs and image enhancement. In the future, one can apply these magnetic nanodiamonds together with surface modifications to facilitate drug delivery, targeted therapy, localized thermal treatment, and diagnostic imaging.