Potential applicability of polyethyleneimine PEI-coated Eu2O3and Dy2O3nanoparticles for contrast enhancement in computed tomography

Abstract

Rare-earth metal oxide nanoparticles considered promising contrast agents for x-ray computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The main purpose of this study is to investigate the potential applicability of polyethyleneimine (PEI)-coated Eu2O3 and Dy2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) for CT x-ray attenuation. Morphology and other physicochemical properties of prepared samples were systematically investigated using a range of characterization tools. Preliminary cytotoxicity experiments with L-929 fibroblastic cells suggested that both samples have no significant toxicity at concentrations below 100 μg ml-1. Clinical CT analysis shows that PEI@Eu2O3 NPs exhibit higher x-ray attenuation efficiency (∼8 HU mM-1) as compared to PEI@Dy2O3 NPs (∼5 HU mM-1).