Bifunctional gadolinium decorated ZnO nanocrystals integrating both enhanced MR signal and bright fluorescence

• Gadolinium decorated ZnO nanoparticles simultaneously possess both fluorescent and MR enhancement properties. These ZnO nanoparticles are crystalline and shielded by an amorphous gadolinium acetate matrix. Interestingly, the Gd-acetate decoration enhances the fluorescence emission of the ZnO nanoparticles. The quantum yield does increase for samples with high Gd/Zn relative ratios and these samples do also show a higher colloidal stability.In addition, these nanoparticles show an enhanced relaxivity value per Gd atom (r119.9mM1s-1) compared to results earlier reported both on Gd alloyed ZnO nanoparticles and pure Gd2O3 nanoparticles. This improvement is considered to be due to the close proximity of Gd atoms and surrounding water molecules. A comprehensive study of the quantum yield and the relaxivity, as a function of composition, enable us to identify the ultimate design/composition of gadolinium decorated ZnO nanoparticles for optimum fluorescence and MR enhancement properties.

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