Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
2
Iron oxIde-Based MagnetIc
nanopartIcles synthesIzed
froM the organIc solutIon
phase for advanced
BIologIcal IMagIng
Sen Zhang and Shouheng Sun
Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
2.1
IntroductIon
Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) based on magnetite (Fe
3
O
4
) and maghemite
(γ-Fe
2
O
3
) have been extensively explored in various biological applications such as
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH), smart drug
delivery, bioseparation, and biosensor [1-4]. Especially in MRI, iron oxide MNPs
(IOMNPs) serve as an important class of contrast agent and provides an appealing
nanoplatform for enhancing the sensitivity and accuracy of MRI in biomedical diag-
nostics. Unlike the conventional paramagnetic gadolinium complex contrast agents,
IOMNPs at the size smaller than 20 nm are normally superparamagnetic and reach
ferromagnetic saturation magnetization under a MRI magnetic field, leading to
drastic contrast enhancement in MRI. This, plus their comparable size to biomacro-
molecules and low toxicity, makes the IOMNPs extremely promising in advanced
MRI detection and diagnosis [5, 6].
The typical paradigm of clinically acceptable IOMNPs has been built up by the
Ferridex. It is composed of Fe
3
O
4
NPs and biocompatible polymer dextran or its
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