Open AccessSuperparamagnetic cobalt ferrite nanoparticles as T 2 contrast agent in MRI: in vitro study
Author(s) -
Mohammadi Zahra,
Attaran Neda,
Sazgarnia Ameneh,
Shaegh Seyed Ali Mousavi,
Montazerabadi Alireza
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iet nanobiotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.366
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1751-875X
pISSN - 1751-8741
DOI - 10.1049/iet-nbt.2019.0210
Subject(s) - superparamagnetism , mri contrast agent , nanoparticle , materials science , cobalt , coprecipitation , nuclear magnetic resonance , magnetic nanoparticles , magnetic resonance imaging , ferrite (magnet) , drug delivery , nuclear chemistry , nanotechnology , biomedical engineering , chemistry , magnetic field , magnetization , medicine , radiology , inorganic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , metallurgy , composite material
Superparamagnetic cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (CoFe 2 O 4 ) possess favourite advantages for theranostic applications. Most of previous studies reported that CoFe 2 O 4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are suitable candidates for induction of hyperthermia and transfection agents for drug delivery. The present study synthesized and investigated the potential use of CoFe 2 O 4 as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by using a conventional MRI system. The CoFe 2 O 4 were synthesized using co‐precipitation method and characterized by TEM, XRD, FTIR, EDX and VSM techniques. Relaxivities r 1 and r 2 of CoFe 2 O 4 were then calculated using a 1.5 Tesla clinical magnetic field. The cytotoxicity of CoFe 2 O 4 was evaluated by the MTT assay. Finally, the optimal concentrations of MNPs for MRI uses were calculated through the analysis of T 2 weighted imaging cell phantoms. The superparamagnetic CoFe2O4 NPs with an average stable size of 10.45 nm were synthesized. Relaxivity r 1 , 2 calculations resulted in suitable r 2 and r 2 / r 1 with values of 58.6 and 51 that confirmed the size dependency on relaxivity values. The optimal concentration of MNPs for MR image acquisition was calculated as 0.154 mM. Conclusion: CoFe 2 O 4 synthesized in this study could be considered as a suitable T 2 weighted contrast agent because of its high r 2 / r 1 value.