Physico-chemical characteristics, biocompatibility, and MRI applicability of novel monodisperse PEG-modified magnetic Fe 3 O 4 &SiO 2 core–shell nanoparticles

• Published in: RSC advances Vol. 7; no. 15; pp. 8786 - 8797
• Main Authors: Kostiv, Uliana, Patsula, Vitalii, Šlouf, Miroslav, Pongrac, Igor M., Škokić, Siniša, Radmilović, Marina Dobrivojević, Pavičić, Ivan, Vrček, Ivana Vinković, Gajović, Srećko, Horák, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• ISSN: 2046-2069; 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/C7RA00224F

Monodisperse, superparamagnetic oleic acid-stabilized Fe
3
O
4
nanoparticles of different sizes were prepared by thermal decomposition of Fe(
iii
) oleate. The particles were subsequently coated by silica shells of different thicknesses (yielding Fe
3
O
4
&SiO
2
) using a water-in-oil (w/o) reverse microemulsion technique and/or were decorated with amino groups by reaction with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane. The resulting Fe
3
O
4
&SiO
2
-NH
2
nanoparticles were then modified with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)
via
reaction with its succinimidyl ester yielding Fe
3
O
4
&SiO
2
-PEG particles. The
in vitro
biocompatibility and biosafety of the Fe
3
O
4
&SiO
2
and Fe
3
O
4
&SiO
2
-PEG particles were investigated in a murine neural stem cell model in terms of oxidative stress response and cell viability, proliferation, and uptake. Finally, the potential of both nanoparticle types for application in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) visualization was evaluated.