Recently, much attention has been given to the development of biofunctionalized nanoparticles with magnetic properties for novel biomedical imaging. Guided, smart, targeting nanoparticulate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents inducing high MRI signal will be valuable tools for future tissue specific imaging and investigation of molecular and cellular events. In this study, we report a new design of functionalized ultrasmall rare earth based nanoparticles to be used as a positive contrast agent in MRI. The relaxivity is compared to commercially available Gd based chelates. The synthesis, PEGylation, and dialysis of small (3-5 nm) gadolinium oxide (DEG-Gd(2)O(3)) nanoparticles are presented. The chemical and physical properties of the nanomaterial were investigated with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and dynamic light scattering. Neutrophil activation after exposure to this nanomaterial was studied by means of fluorescence microscopy. The proton relaxation times as a function of dialysis time and functionalization were measured at 1.5 T. A capping procedure introducing stabilizing properties was designed and verified, and the dialysis effects were evaluated. A higher proton relaxivity was obtained for as-synthesized diethylene glycol (DEG)-Gd(2)O(3) nanoparticles compared to commercial Gd-DTPA. A slight decrease of the relaxivity for as-synthesized DEG-Gd(2)O(3) nanoparticles as a function of dialysis time was observed. The results for functionalized nanoparticles showed a considerable relaxivity increase for particles dialyzed extensively with r(1) and r(2) values approximately 4 times the corresponding values for Gd-DTPA. The microscopy study showed that PEGylated nanoparticles do not activate neutrophils in contrast to uncapped Gd(2)O(3). Finally, the nanoparticles are equipped with Rhodamine to show that our PEGylated nanoparticles are available for further coupling chemistry, and thus prepared for targeting purposes. The long term goal is to design a powerful, directed contrast agent for MRI examinations with specific targeting possibilities and with properties inducing local contrast, that is, an extremely high MR signal at the cellular and molecular level.

Ultrasmall gadolinium oxide nanoparticles doped with terbium ions were synthesized by the polyol route and characterized as a potentially bifunctional material with both fluorescent and magnetic contrast agent properties. The structural, optical, and magnetic properties of the organic-acid-capped and PEGylated Gd 2 O 3 :Tb 3+ nanocrystals were studied by HR-TEM, XPS, EDX, IR, PL, and SQUID. The luminescent/fluorescent property of the particles is attributable to the Tb 3+ ion located on the crystal lattice of the Gd 2 O 3 host. The paramagnetic behavior of the particles is discussed. Pilot studies investigating the capability of the nanoparticles for fluorescent labeling of living cells and as a MRI contrast agent were also performed. Cells of two cell lines (THP-1 cells and fibroblasts) were incubated with the particles, and intracellular particle distribution was visualized by confocal microscopy. The MRI relaxivity of the PEGylated nanoparticles in water at low Gd concentration was assessed showing a higher T 1 relaxation rate compared to conventional Gd-DTPA chelates and comparable to that of undoped Gd 2 O 3 nanoparticles.

We have previously shown that gadolinium oxide (Gd(2)O(3)) nanoparticles are promising candidates to be used as contrast agents in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging applications. In this study, these nanoparticles were investigated in a cellular system, as possible probes for visualization and targeting intended for bioimaging applications. We evaluated the impact of the presence of Gd(2)O(3) nanoparticles on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from human neutrophils, by means of luminol-dependent chemiluminescence. Three sets of Gd(2)O(3) nanoparticles were studied, i.e. as synthesized, dialyzed and both PEG-functionalized and dialyzed Gd(2)O(3) nanoparticles. In addition, neutrophil morphology was evaluated by fluorescent staining of the actin cytoskeleton and fluorescence microscopy. We show that surface modification of these nanoparticles with polyethylene glycol (PEG) is essential in order to increase their biocompatibility. We observed that the as synthesized nanoparticles markedly decreased the ROS production from neutrophils challenged with prey (opsonized yeast particles) compared to controls without nanoparticles. After functionalization and dialysis, more moderate inhibitory effects were observed at a corresponding concentration of gadolinium. At lower gadolinium concentration the response was similar to that of the control cells. We suggest that the diethylene glycol (DEG) present in the as synthesized nanoparticle preparation is responsible for the inhibitory effects on the neutrophil oxidative burst. Indeed, in the present study we also show that even a low concentration of DEG, 0.3%, severely inhibits neutrophil function. In summary, the low cellular response upon PEG-functionalized Gd(2)O(3) nanoparticle exposure indicates that these nanoparticles are promising candidates for MR-imaging purposes.

Gallium oxide is a promising semiconductor with great potential for efficient power electronics due to its ultra-wide band gap and high breakdown electric field. Optimization of halide vapor phase epitaxy growth of heteroepitaxial $$\upbeta$$ β -Ga2O3 layers is demonstrated using a simulation model to predict the distribution of the ratio of gallium to oxygen precursors inside the reactor chamber. The best structural quality is obtained for layers grown at 825–850 °C and with a III/VI precursor ratio of 0.2. Although the structural and optical properties are similar, the surface morphology is more deteriorated for the $$\upbeta$$ β -Ga2O3 layers grown on 5 degree off-axis sapphire substrates compared to on-axis samples even for optimized process parameters. Cathodoluminescence with a peak at 3.3 eV is typical for unintentionally doped n-type $$\upbeta$$ β -Ga2O3 and shows the appearance of additional emissions in blue and green region at ~ 3.0, ~ 2.8, ~ 2.6 and ~ 2.4 eV, especially when the growth temperatures is lowered to 800–825 °C. Estimation of the band gap energy to ~ 4.65 eV from absorption indicates a high density of vacancy defects.

As the utility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) broadens, the importance of having specific and efficient contrast agents increases and in recent time there has been a huge development in the fields of molecular imaging and intracellular markers. Previous studies have shown that gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) nanoparticles generate higher relaxivity than currently available Gd chelates: In addition, the Gd2O3 nanoparticles have promising properties for MRI cell tracking. The aim of the present work was to study cell labeling with Gd2O3 nanoparticles in hematopoietic cells and to improve techniques for monitoring hematopoietic stem cell migration by MRI. Particle uptake was studied in two cell lines: the hematopoietic progenitor cell line Ba/F3 and the monocytic cell line THP-1. Cells were incubated with Gd2O3 nanoparticles and it was investigated whether the transfection agent protamine sulfate increased the particle uptake. Treated cells were examined by electron microscopy and MRI, and analyzed for particle content by inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry. Results showed that particles were intracellular, however, sparsely in Ba/F3. The relaxation times were shortened with increasing particle concentration. Relaxivities, r1 and r2 at 1.5 T and 21°C, for Gd2O3 nanoparticles in different cell samples were 3.6–5.3 s-1 mM-1 and 9.6–17.2 s-1 mM-1, respectively. Protamine sulfate treatment increased the uptake in both Ba/F3 cells and THP-1 cells. However, the increased uptake did not increase the relaxation rate for THP-1 as for Ba/F3, probably due to aggregation and/or saturation effects. Viability of treated cells was not significantly decreased and thus, it was concluded that the use of Gd2O3 nanoparticles is suitable for this type of cell labeling by means of detecting and monitoring hematopoietic cells. In conclusion, Gd2O3 nanoparticles are a promising material to achieve positive intracellular MRI contrast; however, further particle development needs to be performed.

funding agencies|Swedish Research Council| 621-2007-3810 621-2009-5148 521-2009-3423 |VINNOVA| 2009-00194 |Center in Nanoscience and Technology at LiTH (CeNano)||