UV-Accelerated Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticle–Pluronic Nanocomposites for X-ray Computed Tomography Contrast Enhancement

Abstract

Eco-friendly chemical methods using FDA-approved Pluronic F127 (PLU) block copolymer have garnered much attention for simultaneously forming and stabilizing Au nanoparticles (AuNPs). Given the remarkable properties of AuNPs for usage in various fields, especially in biomedicine, we performed a systematic study to synthesize AuNP-PLU nanocomposites under optimized conditions using UV irradiation for accelerating the reaction. The use of UV irradiation at 254 nm resulted in several advantages over the control method conducted under ambient light (control). The AuNP-PLU-UV nanocomposite was produced six times faster, lasting 10 min, and exhibited lower size dispersion than the control. A set of experimental techniques was applied to determine the structure and morphology of the produced nanocomposites as affected by the UV irradiation. The MTT assay was conducted to estimate IC50 values of AuNP-PLU-UV in NIH 3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblasts, and the results suggest that the sample is more compatible with cells than control samples. Afterward, in vivo maternal and fetal toxicity assays were performed in rats to evaluate the effect of AuNP-PLU-UV formulation during pregnancy. Under the tested conditions, the treatment was found to be safe for the mother and fetus. As a proof of concept or application, the synthesized Au:PLU were tested as contrast agents with an X-ray computed tomography scan (X-ray CT).

Dual production of polyhydroxyalkanoates and antibacterial/antiviral gold nanoparticles

“…Chemicals such as ascorbic acid, sodium citrate, sodium borohydride and others have been used to reduce the precursor of HAuCl 4 to AuNPs (Teimouri et al, 2018;Daruich De Souza et al, 2019;Riberio da Cuncha et al, 2019;Hammami et al, 2021). In a UV-assisted synthesis of AuNPs, it was revealed that after 10 min of UV irradiation the obtained mixture had a pink colour and the SPR was detected at 526 nm indicating the reduction of the precursor aqueous solutions of HAuCl 4 (Gomes et al, 2023). The TEM measurement revealed the obtained spherical particles to be between 12-18 nm.…”

Advances in nanotechnology-based targeted-contrast agents for computed tomography and magnetic resonance

“…Processing high-atomic-number materials to the nanoscale, characterizing and modifying these materials for different anatomical sites and diseases, and preparing nano-targeted reagents to achieve these five properties are now the primary focus of research into nano-CT contrast agents. 8–27…”

“…When Li et al 21 adapted the surface of Au NPs with two thiol-binding molecules while considering the acidic microenvironment of tumor tissue, they found that this modification enabled the Au NPs to remain stable at the normal blood and tissue pH while leading to aggregation of the NPs outside of acidic cells, achieving pH-controlled-induced aggregation of the Au NPs. When Gomes et al 22 used UV irradiation to accelerate the reaction for the synthesis of Au NP–Pluronic nanocomposites, they found that the use of UV irradiation at 254 nm resulted in a 10-fold increase in the preparation rate of the nanocomposites. They also observed that the dispersion sizes were smaller than those obtained using the control method under ambient light.…”

“…3 Nano-formulations have garnered significant attention in basic research into disease diagnosis and treatment owing to their unique properties, including enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) in solid tumors and surface modifiability. 4–47 Research into the development of more targeted nano-enhanced contrast agents aims to combine the potential advantages of nanomaterials to overcome the shortcomings of traditional small-molecule contrast agents, such as rapid metabolism and poor targeting. Improvement of the diagnostic ability and level of medical imaging has become an important research area in the preparation of medical imaging-enhanced contrast agents.…”