Emulsifier-free emulsion polymerized poly(MMA-HEMA-Eu(AA) sub(3) Phen)/Fe sub(3) O sub(4) magnetic fluorescent bifunctional nanospheres for magnetic resonance and optical imaging

• Published in: Chinese journal of polymer science Vol. 34; no. 2; pp. 135 - 146
• Main Authors: Hu, Chen, Xia, Tian, Gong, Ying, Wang, Xin, Liu, Ruan-qing, Zhang, Quan-yuan, Yi, Chang-feng, Xu, Zu-shun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.02.2016
• Subjects: Drug delivery systems; Fluorescence; Imaging; Magnetic resonance; Nanospheres; Polymerization; Rare earth metals; Spleen
• ISSN: 0256-7679
• DOI: 10.1007/s10118-016-1739-y

Integration of biocompatibility with superparamagnetic Fe sub(3) O sub(4) nanoparticles and luminescence rare earth complexes Eu(AA) sub(3) Phen was carried out to form bifunctional nanospheres for using in bioimaging applications. The nanospheres Poly(MMA-HEMA-Eu(AA) sub(3) Phen)/Fe sub(3) O sub(4) exhibit magnetic and fluorescent properties that are favorable for the use in drug delivery, magnetic separation and MR imaging for biomedical research. The TEM and SEM studies reveal that the bifunctional nanospheres have core-shell structure, in a spherical shape with a size ranging from 140 nm to 180 nm. In MRI experiments, a clear negative contrast enhancement in T sub(2) sub(2) reaches 568.82 (mmol[middot]L super(-1)) super(-1)[middot]s super(-1). In vivo magnetic and fluorescence resonance imaging results suggest the nanospheres are able to preferentially accumulate in liver and spleen tissues to allow dual-modal detection of cancer cells in a living body.