Hybrid magnetic nanostructures (MNS) for magnetic resonance imaging applications

The development of MRI contrast agents has experienced its version of the gilded age over the past decade, thanks largely to the rapid advances in nanotechnology. In addition to progress in single mode contrast agents, which ushered in unprecedented R1 or R2 sensitivities, there has also been a boon in the development of agents covering more than one mode of detection. These include T1–PET, T2–PET T1–optical, T2–optical, T1–T2 agents and many others. In this review, we describe four areas which we feel have experienced particular growth due to nanotechnology, specifically T2 magnetic nanostructure development, T1/T2–optical dual mode agents, and most recently the T1–T2 hybrid imaging systems. In each of these systems, we describe applications including in vitro, in vivo usage and assay development. In all, while the benefits and drawbacks of most MRI contrast agents depend on the application at hand, the recent development in multimodal nanohybrids may curtail the shortcomings of single mode agents in diagnostic and clinical settings by synergistically incorporating functionality. It is hoped that as nanotechnology advances over the next decade, it will produce agents with increased diagnostics and assay relevant capabilities in streamlined packages that can meaningfully improve patient care and prognostics. In this review article, we focus on T2 materials, its surface functionalization and coupling with optical and/or T1 agents.