Magnetic Nanoparticles Based on CoFe Alloy as T2 MRI Contrast Agents

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are playing an increasing role in medical applications, becoming an important tool for cancer detection. In this study, magnetic core-shell CoFe@Au nanowires with optimized biocompatibility, as well as multilayered Au/CoFe/Au nanowires are synthetized by using electrodeposition and electroless-plating techniques. Their morphology and composition are investigated, the materials being tested for their use as T2 contrast agents in MRI. A dramatic increase of r1 and r2 relaxivity values was obtained for the CoFe@Au core-shell nanowires, making these materials best candidates as new MRI contrast agents.