Progress in the characterization of bio-functionalized nanoparticles using NMR methods and their applications as MRI contrast agents

•Nanosystems can be prepared from a large variety of starting materials.•They can be conveniently functionalized to achieve certain abilities of interest.•NMR is an excellent tool for their chemical, structural and dynamic characterization.•Nanosystems can be very useful as MRI contrast agents and theragnostic devices.•Approximations to in vivo outcomes can be tested in vitro.

Significant progress has been made over the last three decades in the field of NMR, a technique which has proven to have a variety of applications in many scientific disciplines, including nanotechnology. Herein we describe how NMR enables the characterization of nanosystems at different stages of their formation and modification (raw materials, bare or functionalized nanosystems), even making it possible to study in vivo nanoparticle interactions, thereby importantly contributing to nanoparticle design and subsequent optimization. Furthermore, the unique characteristics of nanosystems can open up new prospects for site-targeted, more specific contrast agents, contributing to the development of certain nuclear magnetic resonance applications such as MRI.

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