Hybrid gold-iron oxide nanoparticles as a multifunctional platform for biomedical application

Hoskins, C., Min, Y., Gueorguieva, M., McDougall, C., Volovick, A., Prentice, P. , Wang, Z., Melzer, A., Cuschieri, A. and Wang, L. (2012) Hybrid gold-iron oxide nanoparticles as a multifunctional platform for biomedical application. Journal of Nanobiotechnology, 10(1), p. 27. (doi: 10.1186/1477-3155-10-27) (PMID:22731703) (PMCID:PMC3448509)

Abstract

Background: Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have increasing applications in biomedicine, however fears over long term stability of polymer coated particles have arisen. Gold coating IONPs results in particles of increased stability and robustness. The unique properties of both the iron oxide (magnetic) and gold (surface plasmon resonance) result in a multimodal platform for use as MRI contrast agents and as a nano-heater. Results: Here we synthesize IONPs of core diameter 30 nm and gold coat using the seeding method with a poly(ethylenimine) intermediate layer. The final particles were coated in poly(ethylene glycol) to ensure biocompatibility and increase retention times in vivo. The particle coating was monitored using FTIR, PCS, UV–vis absorption, TEM, and EDX. The particles appeared to have little cytotoxic effect when incubated with A375M cells. The resultant hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs) possessed a maximal absorbance at 600 nm. After laser irradiation in agar phantom a ΔT of 32°C was achieved after only 90 s exposure (50 μgmL-1). The HNPs appeared to decrease T2 values in line with previously clinically used MRI contrast agent Feridex®. Conclusions: The data highlights the potential of these HNPs as dual function MRI contrast agents and nano-heaters for therapies such as cellular hyperthermia or thermo-responsive drug delivery.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Financially supported by the NanoSci-E + Consortium and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) UK (EP/H007040/1).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Prentice, Dr Paul
• Authors: Hoskins, C., Min, Y., Gueorguieva, M., McDougall, C., Volovick, A., Prentice, P., Wang, Z., Melzer, A., Cuschieri, A., and Wang, L.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Journal of Nanobiotechnology
• Publisher: BioMed Central
• ISSN: 1477-3155
• ISSN (Online): 1477-3155
• Published Online: 25 June 2012
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2012 Hoskins et al.
• First Published: First published in Journal of Nanobiotechnology 10:27
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a creative commons license