Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Nanotechnology. 2012 Jun 1;23(21):215602. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/23/21/215602. Epub 2012 May 3.
Currently, magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles are the only nanosized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents approved for clinical use, yet commercial manufacturing of these agents has been limited or discontinued. Though there is still widespread demand for these particles both for clinical use and research, they are difficult to obtain commercially, and complicated syntheses make in-house preparation unfeasible for most biological research labs or clinics. To make commercial production viable and increase accessibility of these products, it is crucial to develop simple, rapid and reproducible preparations of biocompatible iron oxide nanoparticles. Here, we report a rapid, straightforward microwave-assisted synthesis of superparamagnetic dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were produced in two hydrodynamic sizes with differing core morphologies by varying the synthetic method as either a two-step or single-step process. A striking benefit of these methods is the ability to obtain swift and consistent results without the necessity for air-, pH- or temperature-sensitive techniques; therefore, reaction times and complex manufacturing processes are greatly reduced as compared to conventional synthetic methods. This is a great benefit for cost-effective translation to commercial production. The nanoparticles are found to be superparamagnetic and exhibit properties consistent for use in MRI. In addition, the dextran coating imparts the water solubility and biocompatibility necessary for in vivo utilization.
目前，磁性氧化铁纳米颗粒是唯一获准临床使用的纳米级磁共振成像（MRI）对比剂，但这些试剂的商业生产已受到限制或已停产。尽管临床和研究仍广泛需要这些颗粒，但它们在商业上很难获得，复杂的合成使得大多数生物研究实验室或诊所都无法进行内部制备。为了使商业生产可行并增加这些产品的可及性，开发简单、快速且可重复的生物相容性氧化铁纳米颗粒制备方法至关重要。在这里，我们报告了一种快速、直接的微波辅助超顺磁性葡聚糖包覆氧化铁纳米颗粒的合成方法。通过改变两步法或一步法的合成方法，可得到两种不同水动力粒径和不同核形态的纳米颗粒。这些方法的一个显著优点是能够快速获得一致的结果，而无需使用对空气、pH 值或温度敏感的技术；因此，与传统的合成方法相比，反应时间和复杂的制造过程大大缩短。这对于经济高效地转化为商业生产具有重要意义。这些纳米颗粒具有超顺磁性，并表现出适用于 MRI 的特性。此外，葡聚糖涂层赋予了用于体内应用所需的水溶性和生物相容性。
