Synthesis and characterization of PEG-coated Zn$_{0.3}$Mn$_x$Fe$_{2.7-x}$O$_4$ nanoparticles as the dual T1/T2-weighted MRI contrast agent

TL;DR

This study develops PEG-coated Zn-Mn ferrite nanoparticles as dual T1/T2 MRI contrast agents, demonstrating their effective imaging capabilities and biocompatibility for improved diagnostic accuracy.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel PEG-coated zinc-manganese ferrite nanoparticle with optimized composition for dual-mode MRI contrast enhancement.

Findings

Zn0.3Mn0.5Fe2.2O4 NPs showed maximum MRI contrast.

Nanoparticles exhibited good biocompatibility and did not inhibit cell growth.

Surface coating confirmed by TEM, TGA, FTIR analyses.

Abstract

Super-paramagnetic nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely explored as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents because of a combination of favorable magnetic properties, biocompability and ease of fabrication. MRI using traditional T1- or T2-weighted single mode contrast-enhanced techniques may yield inaccurate imaging results. In the present work, a T1/T2 dual mode contrast agent based on the super-paramagnetic zinc-manganese ferrite (Zn$_{0.3}$Mn$_x$Fe$_{2.7-x}$O$_4$, x= 0, 0.25, 0.75 and 1) NPs with small core size and a hydrophilic PEG surface coating is reported. The TEM, TGA and FTIR results confirmed the formation of a uniform coating on the NPs surface. The MRI analysis revealed that the Zn$_{0.3}$Mn$_{0.5}$Fe$_{2.2}$O$_4$ NPs had the maximum image contrast compared to other zinc-manganese ferrite samples. Cell viability evaluations revealed that the coated and uncoated particles did not inhibit cell growth pattern. The present PEG-coated Zn$_{0.3}$Mn$_{0.5}$Fe$_{2.2}$O$_4$ NPs can be utilized as a suitable T1/T2-weighted MRI contrast agent for better diagnostic of abnormalities in the organs or tissues.