Large-scale in situ self-assembly and doping engineering of zinc ferrite nanoclusters for high performance bioimaging.

Iron oxide nanomaterials has good biocompatibility and safety, and has been used as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, its clinical usefulness is hampered by its difficult preparation on large scale, its rapid clearance in vivo and low target tissue enrichment efficiency. Here, we report the synthesis of water-soluble, biocompatible, superparamagnetic non-stoichiometric zinc ferrite nanoclusters (nZFNCs) of approximately 50 g in a single batch using a one-pot synthesis technique.

Facile synthesis of superparamagnetic nickel-doped iron oxide nanoparticles as high-performance contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging.

Small-sized iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are an excellent alternative to clinical gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) in -weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) due to their biosafety. However, their relaxation efficiency and contrast enhancement are not significant compared with those of GBCAs, and the nanomaterials face stability problems and difficulties in large-scale synthesis. Here, we designed and synthesized a series of 7 nm monodispersed biocompatible and superparamagnetic nickel-doped iron oxide nanoparticles (NiIO NPs) as safe contrast agents (CAs) for ultra-sensitive -weighted MR imaging.