Bioactive peptide functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) for targeted imaging with MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive imaging technique for both clinical and life sciences studies to diagnose various diseases. In addition to its high spatial resolution, MRI utilizes non-ionizing radiation and is capable of gathering three-dimensional tomographic images.¹ Since the abnormal tissue and normal tissue may have different intrinsic relaxation times depending on the physiological environment, specific contrast may be observed at a late stage of the disease.² In order to enhance the diagnostic use of MRI and detect diseases at an earlier stage, several types of contrast agents (CAs) have been designed which have the ability of shortening T₁ or T₂ relaxation times.