Hybrid gadolinium oxide nanoparticles: multimodal contrast agents for in vivo imaging.

Luminescent hybrid nanoparticles with a paramagnetic Gd2O3 core were applied as contrast agents for both in vivo fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging. These hybrid particles were obtained by encapsulating Gd2O3 cores within a polysiloxane shell which carries organic fluorophores and carboxylated PEG covalently tethered to the inorganic network. Longitudinal proton relaxivities of these particles are higher than the positive contrast agents like Gd-DOTA which are commonly used for clinical magnetic resonance imaging. Moreover these particles can be followed up by fluorescence imaging. This study revealed that these particles suited for dual modality imaging freely circulate in the blood vessels without undesirable accumulation in lungs and liver.