Gd-Si Oxide Nanoparticles as Contrast Agents in Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Alejandro Cabrera-García,
Alejandro Vidal-Moya,
Ángela Bernabeu,
Jesús Pacheco-Torres,
Elisa Checa-Chavarria,
Eduardo Fernández,
Pablo Botella
Affiliations
Alejandro Cabrera-García
Instituto de Tecnología Química, Universitat Politècnica de València-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Alejandro Vidal-Moya
Instituto de Tecnología Química, Universitat Politècnica de València-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Ángela Bernabeu
Unit of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Hospital Universitario de Alicante, INSCANNER S.L., Alicante, Spain
Jesús Pacheco-Torres
Unit of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Instituto de Neurociencias (CSIC-UMH), Alicante, Spain
Elisa Checa-Chavarria
Institute of Bioengineering, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, Spain and Centre for Network Biomedical Research (CIBER-BBN), Spain
Eduardo Fernández
Institute of Bioengineering, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, Spain and Centre for Network Biomedical Research (CIBER-BBN), Spain
Pablo Botella
Instituto de Tecnología Química, Universitat Politècnica de València-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
We describe the synthesis, characterization and application as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging of a novel type of magnetic nanoparticle based on Gd-Si oxide, which presents high Gd3+ atom density. For this purpose, we have used a Prussian Blue analogue as the sacrificial template by reacting with soluble silicate, obtaining particles with nanorod morphology and of small size (75 nm). These nanoparticles present good biocompatibility and higher longitudinal and transversal relaxivity values than commercial Gd3+ solutions, which significantly improves the sensitivity of in vivo magnetic resonance images.
