Chelator-Free Copper-64-Incorporated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for PET/MR Imaging: Improved Radiocopper Stability and Cell Viability

Abstract

We have developed chelator-free copper-64-incorporated iron oxide (IO) nanoparticle (NPs) which have both magnetic and radioactive properties being applied to positron emission tomography (PET)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We have found that the IO nanoparticles composed of radioactive isotope ⁶⁴Cu may act as a contrast agent being a diagnostic tool for PET as well as a good T₂ MRI nanoprobe due to their good r₂/r₁ ratio. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the ⁶⁴Cu incorporation at the core of core-shell-structured IO NPs exhibits a good in vivo stability, giving us an insightful strategy for the design of a contrast agent for the PET-MRI system.