Bioactive peptide functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) for targeted imaging with MRI

摘要

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive imaging technique for both clinical and life sciences studies to diagnose various diseases. In addition to its high spatial resolution, MRI utilizes non-ionizing radiation and is capable of gathering three-dimensional tomographic images. Since the abnormal tissue and normal tissue may have different intrinsic relaxation times depending on the physiological environment, specific contrast may be observed at a late stage of the disease. In order to enhance the diagnostic use of MRI and detect diseases at an earlier stage, several types of contrast agents (CAs) have been designed which have the ability of shortening T or T relaxation times.