Aqueous Dispersion of Manganese–Zinc Ferrite Nanoparticles Protected by PEG as a T₂ MRI Temperature Contrast Agent

Mixed manganese–zinc ferrite nanoparticles coated with PEG were studied for their potential usefulness in MRI thermometry as temperature-sensitive contrast agents. Particles in the form of an 8.5 nm core coated with a 3.5 nm layer of PEG were fabricated using a newly developed, one-step method. The composition of Mn_0.48Zn_0.46Fe_2.06O₄ was found to have a strong thermal dependence of magnetization in the temperature range between 5 and 50 °C. Nanoparticles suspended in an agar gel mimicking animal tissue and showing non-significant impact on cell viability in the biological test were studied with NMR and MRI over the same temperature range. For the concentration of 0.017 mg/mL of Fe, the spin–spin relaxation time T₂ increased from 3.1 to 8.3 ms, while longitudinal relaxation time T₁ shows a moderate decrease from 149.0 to 125.1 ms. A temperature map of the phantom exposed to the radial temperature gradient obtained by heating it with an 808 nm laser was calculated from T₂ weighted spin-echo differential MR images. Analysis of temperature maps yields thermal/spatial resolution of 3.2 °C at the distance of 2.9 mm. The experimental relaxation rate R₂ data of water protons were compared with those obtained from calculations using a theoretical model incorporating the motion averaging regime.