Facile Preparation of Gold-Decorated Fe3O4 Nanoparticles for CT and MR Dual-Modal Imaging

Abstract

The development of a multifunctional nanoprobe capable of non-invasive multimodal imaging is crucial for precise tumour diagnosis. Herein, we report a facile polymer-assisted method to produce Au-Fe3O4 nanocomposites (NCPs) for the dual-modal magnetic resonance (MR) and X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging of tumours. In this approach, amino-functionalized Au nanospheres were first obtained by surface modification of the bifunctional polymer SH-PEG-NH2. Hydrophilic and carboxyl-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were produced by phase transfer of reverse micelle oxidation in our previous work. The Au nanoparticles were conjugated with hydrophilic Fe3O4 nanoparticles through an amide reaction. The obtained Au-Fe3O4 nanocomposites display a high r2 relativity (157.92 mM−1 s−1) and a Hounsfield units (HU) value (270 HU) at Au concentration of 8 mg/mL and could be applied as nanoprobes for the dual-modal MR/CT imaging of a xenografted tumour model. Our work provides a facile method to prepare Au-Fe3O4 nanocomposites for dual-modal MR/CT imaging, and this method can be extended to prepare other multifunctional nanoparticles for multimodal bioimaging.

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“…The therapeutic properties of the resulting materials have been studied by MRI and computed tomography (CT) imaging in vitro and in vivo. [41] Wang et al have prepared and studied a composite of gold nanorods and Fe 3 O 4 NPs for cancer treatment and fluorescence imaging. [42] Reddy et al have designed a similar composite, where Fe 3 O 4 NPs were coated by a chitosan layer, and AuNPs subsequently encapsulated into this layer using lipoic acid as a binder; the resulting material was used in protein purification.…”

“…To enhance the advantageous plasmonic properties of AuNPs, AuNP composites with other metals and metal oxides have been prepared and investigated in diverse applications. [39][40][41][42][43][44][45] The primary purpose of designing this composite is to enable the magnetic delivery of AuNPs to the target tissues, where PPTT can enhance the thermal release by the PVA network by incorporating AuNPs into nanocomposite materials with Fe 3 O 4 NPs via AuS bonding. [27] Herein, for the nanocomposite therapeutic design in this work, the PVA ability to incorporate and release DXL was combined with the functionalities of gold and iron oxide NPs to create Au/Fe 3 O 4 /PVA-10%DXL.…”

“…The composite system that has been studied the most for cancer treatment is one that integrates the gold and iron oxide. [39][40][41][42][43][44] In general, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) represent an important class of anticancer agents due to their significant role in the inhibition of tumor metastasis, photodynamic [28] and plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT). [29,30] Specifically, unique plasmonic properties of AuNPs, that can be tailored in the designed nanocomposites, play an important role in controlling and modulating drug release inside the tumor cells.…”

“…[ 40 ] In a study performed by Cai et al., different composites of Fe 3 O 4 and AuNPs with the gold at the core were prepared. [ 41 ] There, large AuNPs (≈300 nm) were functionalized with HS‐PEG‐NH 2 that served as a bifunctional cross‐linker for coupling with carboxylated Fe 3 O 4 NPs. The therapeutic properties of the resulting materials have been studied by MRI and computed tomography (CT) imaging in vitro and in vivo.…”

“…The therapeutic properties of the resulting materials have been studied by MRI and computed tomography (CT) imaging in vitro and in vivo. [ 41 ] Wang et al. have prepared and studied a composite of gold nanorods and Fe 3 O 4 NPs for cancer treatment and fluorescence imaging.…”