Synthesis and characterization of PVP-functionalized superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles as an MRI contrast agent

The magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) via covalent bonds were prepared as T2 contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The surface of MNPs was first coated with 3(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate (silan A) by a silanization reaction to introduce reactive vinyl groups onto the surface, then poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) was grafted onto the surface of modified-MNPs via surface-initiated radical polymerization. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), TEM (transmission electron microscopy), VSM (vibrating sample magnetometer), and TGA (thermogravimetric analysis). The MNPs had an average size of 14 nm and exhibited superparamagnetism and high saturation magnetization at room temperature. T2-weighted MRI images of PVP-grafted MNPs showed that the magnetic resonance signal is enhanced significantly with increasing nanoparticle concentration in water. The r1 and r2 values per millimole Fe, and r2/r1 value of the PVP-grafted MNPs were calculated to be 2.6 , 72.1, and 28.1(mmol/l)–1·s–1, respectively. These results indicate that the PVP-grafted MNPs have great potential for application in MRI as a T2 contrast agent.