Amendola V, Guadagnini A, Agnoli S, Badocco D, Pastore P, Fracasso G, Gerosa M, Vurro F, Busato A, Marzola P. Polymer-coated silver-iron nanoparticles as efficient and biodegradable MRI contrast agents.
J Colloid Interface Sci 2021;
596:332-341. [PMID:
33839358 DOI:
10.1016/j.jcis.2021.03.096]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Bimetallic nanoparticles allow new and synergistic properties compared to the monometallic equivalents, often leading to unexpected results. Here we present on silver-iron nanoparticles coated with polyethylene glycol, which exhibit a high transverse relaxivity (316 ± 13 mM-1s-1, > 3 times that of the most common clinical benchmark based on iron oxide), excellent colloidal stability and biocompatibility in vivo. Ag-Fe nanoparticles are obtained through a one-step, low-cost laser-assisted synthesis, which makes surface functionalization with the desired biomolecules very easy. Besides, Ag-Fe nanoparticles show biodegradation over a few months, as indicated by incubation in the physiological environment. This is crucial for nanomaterials removal from the living organism and, in fact, in vivo biodistribution studies evidenced that Ag-Fe nanoparticles tend to be cleared from liver over a period in which the benchmark iron oxide contrast agent persisted. Therefore, the Ag-Fe NPs offer positive prospects for solving the problems of biopersistence, contrast efficiency, difficulties of synthesis and surface functionalization usually encountered in nanoparticulate contrast agents.
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