Engineered Polyethylene Glycol-Coated Zinc Ferrite Nanoparticles as a Novel Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agent

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was utilized to functionalizethe surfaceof zinc ferrite nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by the hydrothermalprocess in order to prevent aggregation and improve the biocompatibilityof the NPs for the proposed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agent.Various spectroscopy techniques were used to examine the NPs'structure, size, morphology, and magnetic properties. The NPs hada cubic spinel structure with an average size of 8 nm. The formationsof the spinel ferrite and the PEG coating band at the ranges of 300-600and 800-2000 cm(-1), respectively, were validatedby Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The NPs were sphericalin shape, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy with mapping confirmedthe presence of zinc, iron, and oxygen in the samples. The resultsof high-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed an averagesize of 14 nm and increased stability after PEG coating. The decreasein zeta potential from -24.5 to -36.5 mV confirmed thePEG coating on the surface of the NPs. A high saturation magnetizationof similar to 50 emu/g, measured by vibration sample magnetometer, indicatedthe magnetic potential of NPs for biomedical applications. An MTTassay was used to examine the cytotoxicity and viability of humannormal skin cells (HSF 1184) exposed to zinc ferrite and PEG@Zn ferriteNPs at various concentrations. After 24 h of treatment, negligiblecytotoxicity of PEG-coated NPs was observed at high concentrations.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suggested that PEG@Zn ferrite NPsare a unique and perfectly suited contrast agent for T-2-weighted MRI and can successfully enhance the image contrast.