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Paramagnetic Quantum Dots as Multimodal Probes for Potential Applications in Nervous System Imaging

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Abstract

An axonal tracer that can be detected by both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluorescence is of great interest for studying nerve regeneration, particularly for spinal cord injury repairs. In this study, we develop a new type of multifunctional nanoparticle that combines three different functionalities of paramagnetism, fluorescence, and axonal tracing into one nanomaterial. We demonstrate that the new synthesized quantum dot nanoparticles have good biocompatibilities and can be readily taken up by cells. In addition, the quantum dots show excellent longitudinal and transverse relaxivities (i.e. r 1  = 11.22 ± 0.10 mM−1 s−1 and r 2  = 24.50 ± 0.51 mM−1 s−1) at 1.5 T, MRI contrast properties better than those of Magnevist®, a commercially available MRI contrast agent. The UV–vis absorbance spectra of all the pQDs-BDA samples indicate that these tracers are stable at different temperatures. Taken together, this new nanomaterial demonstrates good performances for both optical and MR imaging modalities, suggesting its promising potential applications in non-invasive imaging, particularly as a novel multimodal axonal tracer for nervous system imaging.

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Acknowledgements

TRS wishes to thank the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil) for financial support of her Ph.D. study. The authors also thank Krystal Walker and Matthew Coyle at Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) for their assistance with confocal microscopy.

Funding

This work was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Ottawa, 161 Louis Pasteur Ave, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada

    Yan Du, Taisa Regina Stumpf, Yubo Qin, Holly McCulloch & Xudong Cao

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, 725 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4E9, Canada

    Karunanithi Rajamanickam & Eve Tsai

  3. Hainan Institute of Science and Technology, Haikou, 571126, China

    Xiuying Yang & Jingchang Zhang

  4. Ottawa Carleton Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Ottawa, 161 Louis Pasteur Ave, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada

    Xudong Cao

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  1. Yan Du
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Correspondence to Xudong Cao.

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Du, Y., Rajamanickam, K., Stumpf, T.R. et al. Paramagnetic Quantum Dots as Multimodal Probes for Potential Applications in Nervous System Imaging. J Inorg Organomet Polym 28, 711–720 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10904-017-0766-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10904-017-0766-7

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