Manganese doped nano-bioactive glass for magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an attractive method to image biomaterial implants owing to its high spatial resolution and absence of ionizing radiation. However, most of the biomaterials lack magnetic contrast sufficient enough to be imaged in MRI. Here, we report synthesis of manganese doped nano-bioactive glass (Mn-nBG) giving bright contrast for MRI. We have optimized a room temperature method of doping nBG for efficient T1 weighted magnetic contrast. In vitro study using primary mesenchymal stem cells showed no toxicity for Mn-nBG up to a tested concentration of 100 µg/ml, suggesting potential applications in cell labeling and tissue engineering.