Magneto-motive ultrasound imaging using superparamagnetic ferrite nanoparticles with enhanced saturation magnetization synthesized by a simple copreciptation method

Detecting cancer at earlier stages is critical for effective therapeutic procedures and reduction of mortality. Molecular imaging plays a crucial role to improve the early diagnosis of cancer. Magneto-motive ultrasound (MMUS) imaging is a technique developed to improve the detection of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) by ultrasound. The advantage of using contrast agents with nanoscale dimensions is their ability to target biologic events at the molecular and cellular levels. In MMUS, MNPs are used to label a specific tissue and an induced displacement, due to the interaction of MNPs with an alternating magnetic field, is detected by ultrasound imaging. Therefore, it is desirable to use MNPs with high saturation magnetization to enhance the induced displacements, consequently, improving the visualization of the contrast agent at lower concentrations.