Europium-doped gadolinium sulfide nanoparticles as a dual-mode imaging agent for T1-weighted MR and photoluminescence imaging

We present a facile synthesis of europium-doped gadolinium sulfide (GdS:Eu(3+)) opto-magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) via sonochemistry. Their photoluminescence and strong paramagnetic properties enable these NPs to be utilized as an in vitro cell imaging and in vivo T(1)-weighted MR imaging probe. The GdS:Eu(3+) NPs have a prominent longitudinal (r(1)) relaxivity value, which is a critical parameter for T(1)-weighted MR imaging. Here, we showed not only their strong positive contrast effect to blood vessels and organs of mice, but also blood half-life and biodistribution including clearance from organs, in order to assess the GdS:Eu(3+) NPs as a competent nanocrystal-based T(1) contrast agent. We further showed confocal images of breast cancer cells containing GdS:Eu(3+) NPs to evaluate as a photoluminescence probe. Dual-mode imaging capability obtained from the GdS:Eu(3+) NPs will allow target-oriented cellular imaging as well as the resulting disease-specific MR imaging.