title: Preparation and characterization of ferrofluid stabilized with biocompatible chitosan and dextran sulfate hybrid biopolymer as a potential magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2 contrast agent.
abstract: Chitosan is the deacetylated form of chitin and used in numerous applications. Because it is a good dispersant for metal and/or oxide nanoparticle synthesis, chitosan and its derivatives have been utilized as coating agents for magnetic nanoparticles synthesis, including superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). Herein, we demonstrate the water-soluble SPIONs encapsulated with a hybrid polymer composed of polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) from chitosan, the positively charged polymer, and dextran sulfate, the negatively charged polymer. The as-prepared hybrid ferrofluid, in which iron chloride salts (Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺) were directly coprecipitated inside the hybrid polymeric matrices, was physic-chemically characterized. Its features include the z-average diameter of 114.3 nm, polydispersity index of 0.174, zeta potential of −41.5 mV and iron concentration of 8.44 mg Fe/mL. Moreover, based on the polymer chain persistence lengths, the anionic surface of the nanoparticles as well as the high R2/R1 ratio of 13.5, we depict the morphology of SPIONs as a cluster because chitosan chains are chemisorbed onto the anionic magnetite surfaces by tangling of the dextran sulfate. Finally, the cellular uptake and biocompatibility assays indicate that the hybrid polymer encapsulating the SPIONs exhibited great potential as a magnetic resonance imaging T2 contrast agent for cell tracking.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, 5 Fu-Hsing Street, Kweishan, Tao-Yuan 33305, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Zei-Tsan
authors.initials: ZT
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Fu-Yuan
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Wei-Cheng
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jen-Fei
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chao-Lin
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chia-Rui
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Tzu-Chen
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Yen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D041702:BALB 3T3 Cells; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011232:Chemical Precipitation; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000737:chemistry*; D016264:Dextran Sulfate / Q000737:chemistry*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D010316:Particle Size
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003287:Contrast Media; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D048271:Chitosan; D016264:Dextran Sulfate