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Updated: May 8, 2026
Biofunctionalized Prussian Blue Nanoparticles for Multimodal Molecular Imaging Applications
Published on: April 28, 2015
Bio-inspired, melanin-like nanoparticles as a highly efficient contrast agent for T1-weighted magnetic resonance
Kuk-Youn Ju1, Jae Won Lee, Geun Ho Im
1Department of Chemistry and ∥Department of Biophysics and Chemical Biology and Bio-MAX Institute, Seoul National University , Seoul 151-747, Korea.
Abstract:
The development of nontoxic and biocompatible imaging agents will create new opportunities for potential applications in clinical MRI diagnosis. Synthetic melanin-like nanoparticles (MelNPs), analogous to natural sepia melanin (a major component of the cuttlefish ink), can be used as contrast agent for MRI. MelNPs complexed with paramagnetic Fe(3+) ions show much higher relaxivity values than existing MRI T1 contrast agents based on gadolinium (Gd) or manganese (Mn); MelNP values at 3T were r1 = 17 and r2 = 18 mM(-1) s(-1) (r2/r1 value of 1.1). With significant enhancement to MRI contrast, this biomimetic approach using MelNPs functionalized with paramagnetic Fe(3+) ions and surface-modified with biocompatible poly(ethylene glycol) units, could provide new insight into how melanin-based bioresponsive and therapeutic imaging probes integrate with their various biological functions.
