The present invention relates a dual-modality PET (positron emission tomography)/MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) contrast agent, a hybrid nanoparticle comprising: (a) a magnetic signal generating core; (b) a water-soluble multi-functional ligand coated on the signal generating core; and (c) a positron emitting factor linked to the water-soluble multi-functional ligand. The contrast agent of the present invention is the dual-modality contrast agent enabling to perform PET and MR imaging and can effectively obtain images having the merits of PET (excellent sensitivity and high temporal resolution) and MR (high spatial resolution and anatomical information) imaging. The contrast agent of the present invention is very useful for non-invasive and highly sensitive real-time fault-free imaging of various biological events such as cell migration, diagnosis of various diseases (e.g., cancer diagnosis) and drug delivery.
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