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Ultrathin Iron Oxide Nanowhiskers as Positive Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Author(s) -
Macher Thomas,
Totenhagen John,
Sherwood Jennifer,
Qin Ying,
Gurler Demet,
Bolding Mark S.,
Bao Yuping
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201403436
Subject(s) - materials science , magnetic resonance imaging , oleylamine , nanotechnology , iron oxide , contrast (vision) , nuclear magnetic resonance , oxide , in vivo , nanostructure , paramagnetism , nanoparticle , metallurgy , radiology , medicine , physics , microbiology and biotechnology , artificial intelligence , biology , computer science , quantum mechanics
In this paper, a highly innovative concept of using ultrathin iron oxide nanowhiskers as a positive (T 1 ) contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is demonstrated. Iron oxide nanowhiskers with dimensions of approximately 2 nm × 20 nm are synthesized by heating an iron oleate/oleylamine complex under 150 °C. These nanostructures have very high surface‐to‐volume ratios, leading to strong paramagnetic signal, a property suitable for T 1 contrast in MRI. The positive contrast enhancement of these nanowhiskers is demonstrated in vitro and in vivo in a rat model. Successful development of this technology has substantial commercial value in biomedical imaging, potentially leading to the advancement of human healthcare technologies.