A Facile Synthesis, In vitro and In vivo MR Studies of d-Glucuronic Acid-Coated Ultrasmall Ln<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> (Ln = Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, and Er) Nanoparticles as a New Potential MRI Contrast Agent
journal contribution
posted on 2011-09-28, 00:00 authored by Krishna Kattel, Ja Young Park, Wenlong Xu, Han Gyeol Kim, Eun Jung Lee, Badrul Alam Bony, Woo Choul Heo, Jae Jun Lee, Seonguk Jin, Jong Su Baeck, Yongmin Chang, Tae Jeong Kim, Ji Eun Bae, Kwon Seok Chae, Gang Ho LeeA facile one-pot synthesis of d-glucuronic acid-coated ultrasmall Ln<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> (Ln = Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, and Er) nanoparticles is presented. Their water proton relaxivities were studied to address their possibility as a new potential MRI contrast agent. We focused on the d-glucuronic acid-coated ultrasmall Dy<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> nanoparticle because it showed the highest <i>r</i><sub>2</sub> relaxivity among studied nanoparticles. Its performance as a <i>T</i><sub>2</sub> MRI contrast agent was for the first time proved in vivo through its 3 T <i>T</i><sub>2</sub> MR images of a mouse, showing that it can be further exploited for the rational design of a new <i>T</i><sub>2</sub> MRI contrast agent at high MR fields.
