Culver Kayla S B, Shin Yu Jin, Rotz Matthew W, Meade Thomas J, Hersam Mark C, Odom Teri W
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.
Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.
J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces. 2016 Sep 29;120(38):22103-22109. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b08362. Epub 2016 Sep 13.
Gold nanostars functionalized with Gd(III) have shown significant promise as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) because of their anisotropic, branched shape. However, the size and shape polydispersity of as-synthesized gold nanostars have precluded efforts to develop a rigorous relationship between the gold nanostar structure (e.g., number of branches) and relaxivity of surface-bound Gd(III). This paper describes the use of a centrifugal separation method that can produce structurally refined populations of gold nanostars and is compatible with Gd(III) functionalization. Combined transmission electron microscopy and relaxivity analyses revealed that the increased number of nanostar branches was correlated with enhanced relaxivity. By identifying the underlying relaxivity mechanisms for Gd(III)-functionalized gold nanostars, we can inform the design of high-performance MRI contrast agents.
由于其各向异性的分支形状，用钆（III）功能化的金纳米星已显示出作为磁共振成像（MRI）造影剂的巨大潜力。然而，合成的金纳米星的尺寸和形状多分散性阻碍了人们建立金纳米星结构（如分支数量）与表面结合的钆（III）的弛豫率之间严格关系的努力。本文描述了一种离心分离方法的应用，该方法可以产生结构精制的金纳米星群体，并且与钆（III）功能化兼容。结合透射电子显微镜和弛豫率分析表明，纳米星分支数量的增加与弛豫率的提高相关。通过确定钆（III）功能化金纳米星的潜在弛豫机制，我们可以为高性能MRI造影剂的设计提供参考。
