Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was utilized to functionalize
the surface
of zinc ferrite nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by the hydrothermal
process in order to prevent aggregation and improve the biocompatibility
of the NPs for the proposed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agent.
Various spectroscopy techniques were used to examine the NPs’
structure, size, morphology, and magnetic properties. The NPs had
a cubic spinel structure with an average size of 8 nm. The formations
of the spinel ferrite and the PEG coating band at the ranges of 300–600
and 800–2000 cm–1, respectively, were validated
by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The NPs were spherical
in shape, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy with mapping confirmed
the presence of zinc, iron, and oxygen in the samples. The results
of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed an average
size of 14 nm and increased stability after PEG coating. The decrease
in zeta potential from −24.5 to −36.5 mV confirmed the
PEG coating on the surface of the NPs. A high saturation magnetization
of ∼50 emu/g, measured by vibration sample magnetometer, indicated
the magnetic potential of NPs for biomedical applications. An MTT
assay was used to examine the cytotoxicity and viability of human
normal skin cells (HSF 1184) exposed to zinc ferrite and PEG@Zn ferrite
NPs at various concentrations. After 24 h of treatment, negligible
cytotoxicity of PEG-coated NPs was observed at high concentrations.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suggested that PEG@Zn ferrite NPs
are a unique and perfectly suited contrast agent for T2-weighted MRI and can successfully enhance the image contrast.