Preparation, characterization and MRI application of carboxymethyl dextran coated magnetic nanoparticles

Superparamagnetic nanoparticles functionalized with carboxymethyl dextran (CM-dextran) were synthesized by a two-step method. First, the magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with dextran (Mw ≈ 20000) were prepared by co-precipitation of Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions. Then, dextran on the surface of MNPs reacted with monochloroacetic acid (MCA) in alkaline condition. The influences of temperature and reactant concentration on the amount of –COOH on the surface of nanoparticles were systematically studied. The obtained MNPs coated with CM-dextran were stable over the entire range of pH and NaCl concentration. The MRI experiment indicated that the CM-dextran MNPs could potentially be used as MRI contrast agents for magnetic resonance molecular imaging.