Colloidal dispersions of maghemite nanoparticles produced by laser pyrolysis with application as NMR contrast agents

Biocompatible magnetic dispersions have been prepared from gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles (5 nm) synthesized by continuous laser pyrolysis of Fe(CO)(5) vapours. The feasibility of using these dispersions as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents has been analysed in terms of chemical structure, magnetic properties, H-1 NMR relaxation times and biokinetics. The magnetic nanoparticles were dispersed in a strong alkaline solution in the presence of dextran, yielding stable colloids in a single step. The dispersions consist of particle-aggregates 25 nm in diameter measured using transmission electron microscope and a hydrodynamic diameter of 42 nm measured using photon correlation spectroscopy. The magnetic and relaxometric properties of the dispersions were of the same order of magnitude as those of commercial contrast agents produced using coprecipitation. However, these dispersions, when injected intravenously in rats at standard doses showed a mono-exponential blood clearance instead of a biexponential one, with a blood half-life of 7 +/- 1 min. Furthermore, an important enhancement of the image contrast was observed after the injection, mainly located at the liver and the spleen of the rat. In conclusion, the laser pyrolysis technique seems to be a good alternative to the coprecipitation method for producing MRI contrast agents, with the advantage of being a continuous synthesis method that leads to very uniform particles capable of being dispersed and therefore transformed in a biocompatible magnetic liquid.