A new type of silica-coated Gd2(CO3)3:Tb nanoparticle as a bifunctional agent for magnetic resonance imaging and fluorescent imaging

We report a new type of dual modal nanoprobe to combine optical and magnetic resonance bioimaging. A simple reverse microemulsion method and coating process was introduced to synthesize silica-coated Gd2(CO3)3:Tb nanoparticles, and the particles, with an average diameter of 16 nm, can be dispersed in water. As in vitro cell imaging of the nanoprobe shows, the nanoprobe accomplishes delivery to gastric SGC7901 cancer cells successfully in a short time, as well as NCI-H460 lung cancer cells. Furthermore, it presents no evidence of cell toxicity or adverse affect on kidney cell growth under high dose, which makes the nanoprobe's optical bioimaging modality available. The possibility of using the nanoprobe for magnetic resonance imaging is also demonstrated, and the nanoprobe displays a clear T1-weighted effect and could potentially serve as a bimodal T1-positive contrast agent. Therefore, the new nanoprobe formed from carbonate nanoprobe doped with rare earth ions provides the dual modality of optical and magnetic resonance imaging.