Zinc–Nickel Ferrite Nanoparticles as a Contrast Agent in Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

Today, contrast agents are used to improve the sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect pathologic structures. Ferrite nanoparticles are a class of superparamagnetic contrast agents in MRI. In this study, Zn_0.5Ni_0.5Fe₂O₄ nanoparticles were synthesized via precipitation method and coated with dextrin to increase the solubility and biocompatibility. The morphology, size, structure, and magnetic properties of nanoparticles were investigated. These nanoparticles have superparamagnetic property with a narrow size distribution with a mean diameter of about 20.5 ± 3.2 nm. MRI study using phantom agar shows that these nanoparticles can be used as an effective contrast agent for T₂ and \(T_{2}^{*}\)-weighted imaging. The relaxivities of r₂ and \(r_{2}^{*}\) are 8.78 and 82.08 s⁻¹ mmol L⁻¹, respectively. From these findings, it is possible that dextrin-coated Zn_0.5Ni_0.5Fe₂O₄ nanoparticles can be used as a good negative contrast agent in MRI.