Mixed manganese-zinc ferrite nanoparticles coated with PEG were studied for their potential usefulness in MRI thermometry as temperature-sensitive contrast agents. Particles in the form of an 8.5 nm core coated with a 3.5 nm layer of PEG were fabricated using a newly developed, one-step method. The composition of Mn0.48Zn0.46Fe2.06O4 was found to have a strong thermal dependence of magnetization in the temperature range between 5 and 50 °C. Nanoparticles suspended in an agar gel mimicking animal tissue and showing non-significant impact on cell viability in the biological test were studied with NMR and MRI over the same temperature range. For the concentration of 0.017 mg/mL of Fe, the spin-spin relaxation time T2 increased from 3.1 to 8.3 ms, while longitudinal relaxation time T1 shows a moderate decrease from 149.0 to 125.1 ms. A temperature map of the phantom exposed to the radial temperature gradient obtained by heating it with an 808 nm laser was calculated from T2 weighted spin-echo differential MR images. Analysis of temperature maps yields thermal/spatial resolution of 3.2 °C at the distance of 2.9 mm. The experimental relaxation rate R2 data of water protons were compared with those obtained from calculations using a theoretical model incorporating the motion averaging regime.
Keywords: MRI thermometry; MnZn ferrite; PEG coating; laser ablations; motion averaging regime; nuclear relaxation times.