Water-soluble amorphous iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized by a quickly pestling and nontoxic method at room temperature as MRI contrast agents

• Solvent is not needed in the synthesis process.
• The reaction is carried out at room temperature.
• All the reactants used in this method are nontoxic and economic.
• The synthesis process is very simple.
• The water-soluble IO NPs show very high magnetic resonance contrast properties.

Amorphous iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles (NPs) with excellent water-solubility were synthesized at room temperature without the presence of any solvents. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), EDS (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and TEM (transmission electron microscopy). T2-weighted MRI images of citrate-coated NPs showed that the magnetic resonance signal is enhanced significantly with increasing nanoparticle concentration in water. Advantages of this method rely not only on the simplicity and nontoxicity but also on the low cost, highly suitable for further applications. These results indicate that the citrate-coated NPs have great potential for application in MRI as a T2 contrast agent.

Amorphous iron oxide nanoparticles with excellent water-solubility were synthesized by grinding the precursors in a mortar at room temperature. The nanoparticles obviously exhibited enormous potential as negative MRI contrast agents.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide