Gd2o3 Nanoparticles Coated With A Fluorescent Carbon Layer For Potential T-1-Weighted Magnetic Resonance And Cells Imaging

There has been a great interest in the development of new functional contrast agents for biomedical applications. In this study, we report the preparation of bifunctional core-shell nanoprobes that can be used as a T-1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent and fluorescent marker for cells imaging. Various analysis techniques were utilized to analyze the physicochemical properties of prepared nanoprobes. Small-animal MRI scanner (1.5 T) was utilized to measure the T-1-weighted relaxivity rate (r(1) = 5.57 +/- 0.33 mM(-1) s(-1)) of prepared nanoprobes. In addition, we showed that prepared nanoprobes can be also used for optical imaging of living cells. A pilot cytotoxicity study on L-929 fibroblastic cells showed that prepared nanoprobes are relatively safe at concentrations <= 8 mu g/ml. Thus, prepared samples can be utilized as a promising bifunctional nanoprobe for in-vivo small animal MRI imaging and in-vitro tissues/cells study.