Structure-Relaxivity Mechanism of an Ultrasmall Ferrite Nanoparticle T<sub>1</sub> MR Contrast Agent: The Impact of Dopants Controlled Crystalline Core and Surface Disordered Shell.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33448859.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c04574.
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Abstract
Ultrasmall ferrite nanoparticles (UFNPs) have emerged as powerful magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T<sub>1</sub> nanoprobe for noninvasive visualization of biological events. However, the structure-relaxivity relationship and regulatory mechanism of UFNPs remain elusive. Herein, we developed chemically engineered 3.8 nm Zn<sub><i>x</i></sub>Fe<sub>3-<i>x</i></sub>O<sub>4</sub>@Zn<sub><i>x</i></sub>Mn<sub><i>y</i></sub>Fe<sub>3-<i>x</i>-<i>y</i></sub>O<sub>4</sub> (denoted as Zn<sub><i>x</i></sub>F@Zn<sub><i>x</i></sub>Mn<sub><i>y</i></sub>F) nanoparticles with precise dopants control in both crystalline core and disordered shell as a model system to assess the impact of dopants on the relaxometric properties of UFNPs. It is determined that the core-shell dopant architecture allows the optimal tuning of r<sub>1</sub> relaxivity for Zn<sub>0.4</sub>F@Zn<sub>0.4</sub>Mn<sub>0.2</sub>F up to 20.22 mM<sup>-1</sup> s<sup>-1</sup>, which is 5.2-fold and 6.5-fold larger than that of the original UFNPs and the clinically used Gd-DTPA. Moreover, the high-performing UFNPs nanoprobe, when conjugated with a targeting moiety AMD3100, enables the <i>in vivo</i> MRI detection of small lung metastasis with greatly enhanced sensitivity. Our results pave the way toward the chemical design of ultrasensitive T<sub>1</sub> nanoprobe for advanced molecular imaging.