MPI tracer interactions and their effect on signal stability

Abstract

Nanoparticles tend to agglomerate following their in vivo or in vitro application. This leads to particle interaction and, for magnetic particle imaging (MPI) tracers, to magnetic coupling phenomena. Here, we investigate these effects and their influence on magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS) and MPI signal stability. Highly magnetic flame-made Zn-ferrites with controlled interparticle distance are suggested as a stable MPI tracer system. Due to their pre-aggregated morphology, additional agglomeration does not substantially alter their magnetic response. This is in strong contrast to frequently investigated polymer-coated iron oxide nanoparticles, which show a massive MPS signal loss in a biologically relevant dispersion medium compared to water. This effect is also shown during MPI and renders these tracers inapplicable to further applications. Our flame-made Zn-ferrites, on the other hand, show sufficient signal stability, which allows their detailed quantification via MPI.