PLASMONIC SUB-100 NM NANOMATRYOSHKAS THAT CONFINE CONTRAST AGENTS WITHIN LAYERS OF METAL
A magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent includes a plurality of particles. Each particle including a metal core; a dielectric shell disposed on the metal core including water and at least one MRI contrast agent; and a metal shell disposed on the exterior surface of the dielectric shell that encapsulates the dielectric shell.
1 . A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) enhancement agent, comprising:
a plurality of particles, each particle comprising:
a metal core;
a dielectric shell disposed on the metal core comprising water and at least one MRI contrast agent; and
a metal shell disposed on the exterior surface of the dielectric shell that encapsulates the dielectric shell.
2 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein a radius of the metal core is less than 40 nm.
3 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein a radius of the metal core is approximately 25 nm.
4 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein a radius of the metal core is less than 25 nm.
5 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the silica shell is less than 20 nm.
6 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the metal shell is between 1 and 20 nm.
7 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of particles supports a plasmon resonance centered at greater than 400 nm and less than 1200 nm.
8 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of particles supports a plasmon resonance centered at 810 nm.
9 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein the silica shell is doped with an amine.
10 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 9 , wherein the amine is 3-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane.
11 . The MRI enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein the MRI contrast agent is comprised of at least one selected from the group containing a type 1 contrast agent and a type 2 contrast agent.
12 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 11 , wherein the type 1 contrast agent is manganese oxide and the type 2 contrast agent is iron oxide.
13 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 11 , wherein the type 1 contrast agent is a lanthanide.
14 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 13 , wherein the type 1 contrast agent is chelated.
15 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 13 , wherein the lanthanide is gadolinium.
16 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 14 , wherein the chelate is diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid.
17 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein the magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent is comprised of at least one type 1 contrast agent and at least one type 2 contrast agent.
18 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 17 , wherein the type 1 contrast agent is a lanthanide.
19 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 18 , wherein the lanthanide is gadolinium.
20 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 17 , wherein the type 1 contrast agent is manganese oxide and the type 2 contrast agent is iron oxide.
21 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein the metal core is gold.
22 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein the metal shell is gold.
23 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein the metal core is silver.
24 . The magnetic resonance imaging enhancement agent of claim 1 , wherein the metal shell is silver.
25 . A method of producing a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) enhancement particle, comprising:
coating a metal core with a dielectric to obtain a metal core with a dielectric coating;
loading the dielectric coating with a solution comprising water and a MRI contrast agent to obtain a loaded dielectric coating;
etching the loaded dielectric coating to a desired thickness to obtain an etched dielectric coating;
seeding the exterior of the etched dielectric coating with a metal to obtain a seeded dielectric coating; and
coating the seeded dielectric coating with a second metal to obtain the magnetic resonance imaging enhancement particle.
26 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the dielectric shell is doped with an amine.
27 . The method of claim 26 , wherein the amine is 3-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane.
28 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the MRI contrast agent is comprised of at least one selected from the group containing a type 1 contrast agent and a type 2 contrast agent.
29 . The method of claim 28 , wherein the type 1 contrast agent is a lanthanide.
30 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the lanthanide is gadolinium.
31 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the type 1 contrast agent is chelated.
32 . The method of claim 31 , wherein the chelate is diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid.
33 . The method of claim 28 , wherein the type 1 contrast agent is manganese oxide and the type 2 contrast agent is iron oxide.
34 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the MRI contrast agent is comprised of at least one type 1 contrast agent and at least one type 2 contrast agent.
35 . The method of claim 32 , wherein the type 1 contrast agent is a lanthanide.
36 . The method of claim 33 , wherein the lanthanide is gadolinium.
37 . The method of claim 32 , wherein the type 1 contrast agent is manganese oxide and the type 2 contrast agent is iron oxide.
38 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the metal core is gold.
39 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the metal core is silver.
40 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the second metal is silver.
41 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the second metal is gold.
42 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the dielectric shell is silica.