Novel fluorinated ligands for gold nanoparticle labelling with applications in ¹⁹F-MRI

Abstract

Novel fluorinated ligands for gold nanoparticle labelling have been designed and synthesised. Several types of gold nanoparticles have been prepared in the presence of these fluorinated ligands alone, or in combination with non-fluorinated ligands. Their colloidal stability in water and other solvents was tested and the magnetic resonance properties of the so-obtained nanoparticles were also assessed in detail. H andF-NMR spectra were evaluated and MRI phantoms of the most promising nanoparticles were successfully measured in F-MRI. The MRI signal to noise ratio was related to the fluorine concentration and compared with ICP-MS data to correlate the real concentration of fluorine grafted onto the nanoparticles with the actually active fluorine in MRI.

Toward Diffusion Measurements of Colloidal Nanoparticles in Biological Environments by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

“…Two types of gold NPs functionalized with fluorinated polyethylene glycol (PEG) ligands (HS‐PEG‐F and HS‐PEG‐PhF) were synthesized following a reported methodology by us. [ 12c,20 ] One of them was additionally coated with amino‐ending PEG ligands (HS‐PEG‐NH 2 ) and further covered with poly(isobutylene‐alt‐maleic anhydride) (PMA) polymer, which displays carboxyl groups on its surface when placed in water. This type of NP was selected as a suitable model for protein corona evaluation, based on previous research by us.…”

Taking Advantage of Hydrophobic Fluorine Interactions for Self‐Assembled Quantum Dots as a Delivery Platform for Enzymes

“…Theselection of this ligand was based on several reasons:a )the perfluoro-tert-butyl group permits the introduction of ah igh amount of fluorine atoms on the outer surface of the QDs;b )ethylene glycol units in the linker enhance the solubility,a nd c) thiol group allows binding on the QD surface,a sw ell as on other types of NPs such as Au NPs. [13] Thec hoice of QDs as ab uilding unit to form the nanoassemblies was based on their optical properties,mainly high photoluminescence intensity and very low photobleaching under intracellular conditions.H owever,i np rinciple many other NP materials could be used, for example, biocompatible materials,a nd in the case of QDs,t heir Cdfree counterparts are preferred.…”

Taking Advantage of Hydrophobic Fluorine Interactions for Self‐Assembled Quantum Dots as a Delivery Platform for Enzymes

“…After the functionalization, 1 H and 19 F NMR spectroscopy confirmed the presence of the ligand on the QD surface (see Figure SI‐3). The selection of this ligand was based on several reasons: a) the perfluoro‐ tert ‐butyl group permits the introduction of a high amount of fluorine atoms on the outer surface of the QDs; b) ethylene glycol units in the linker enhance the solubility, and c) thiol group allows binding on the QD surface, as well as on other types of NPs such as Au NPs . The choice of QDs as a building unit to form the nanoassemblies was based on their optical properties, mainly high photoluminescence intensity and very low photobleaching under intracellular conditions.…”