Gd₂O₃ Nanoparticles Coated with a Fluorescent Carbon Layer for Potential T₁-Weighted Magnetic Resonance and Cells Imaging

Herein, we report the bifunctional core-shell nanoprobes that can be used as a T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent and fluorescent marker for cells imaging. Gd2O3 nanoprobes coated with fluorescent carbon layer were prepared and their physicochemical properties were characterized by FETEM and XRD. A Small-animal MRI scanner (1.5 T) was utilized to measure the T1-weighted relaxivity rate (r1 = 5.57 ± 0.33 mM-1 s-1) of...