Synthesis and characterization of Polyethylene glycol-coated hierarchical ferrite nanoparticles as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging applications

Abstract

Abstract Ferrite nanoparticles (NPs) containing manganese and zinc ions have many implications in medicine, especially in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as contrast agents to improve the quality of MRI images. However, the toxic and destructive effects of the use of contrast agents on the body should be considered. In this study, we proposed Mn-Zn magnetic NPs with a hierarchical structure and improved magnetic properties that are more biocompatible. In addition, I synthesized ferrite NPs with a hierarchical structure using ferric chloride, zinc chloride, manganese chloride, ascorbic acid and urea via the hydrothermal method. The dispersibility and biocompatibility of the product were improved by using the polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) to coat the surface of the synthesized NPs. In addition, the potential of the synthesized PEG-coated NPs as contrast agents in MRI was investigated. Accordingly,the ferrite NPs were synthesized by a hydrothermal method at a temperature of 160° and a process time of 6 hours. The resulting precipitates were then dried at 70˚C for 10 hours and then annealed at 500˚C for 2 hours. The pH was measured in three different steps: first, by adding 3 salts (pH=1.7), then, by adding ascorbic acid (pH=1.12), and finally by adding urea (pH=1.30). The crystal structure, chemical composition, morphology, and average particle size of the product were characterized by XRD, SEM, FTIR and DLS-Zetta analyzes. VSM analysis was used to study the magnetic properties of the synthesized and coated nanoparticles. To accurately determine the percentage of the elements, iron, manganese and zinc in the synthesized nanoparticles, ICP-MASS was used. On the other hand,both normal ferrite nanoparticles and hierarchical (Mn, Zn)-ferrite were tested, and their differences and effects on magnetic resonance imaging were studied. To verify the blood compatibility of our NPs, complete blood count(CBC) and in vitro blood coagulation studies were performed in each case. Finally, I would use this procedure to investigate how much MRI image contrast would improve.