Synthesis of completely dispersed water soluble functionalized graphene/γ-Fe2O3 nanocomposite and its application as an MRI contrast agent

In this work, the synthesis of graphene oxide grafted poly citric acid-γ-Fe2O3 nanocomposite (GO-g-PCA/γ-Fe2O3) with a simple method and its application as a useful negative contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging was studied. GO was prepared by Mildly method and polymerized with citric acid to produce GO-g-PCA. γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized by co-precipitation method in the size distribution range of 10–25 nm with saturation magnetization (Ms) 21 emu g−1. The nanoparticles encapsulated on GO-g-PCA to produce nanocomposite that showed excellent stability, extra dispersibility, and good superparamagnetic properties with Ms 14 emu g−1. This nanocomposite provided significant contrast enhancement effect in T2 and T2⁎-weighted images with r2 and r2⁎ values 125.63 and 280.85 mM−1 s−1 respectively at 3.0 T. The cytotoxicity evaluation showed no cell toxicity in HCT-116 cell lines even at a high concentration up to 141 μg mL−1 after being treated for 24 h by MTT assay test method. [Display omitted] •Graphene oxide polymerized via simple and safe method to produce soluble GO-g-PCA.•A magnetic nanocomposite with extra colloidal stability was fabricated.•The nanocomposite had noticeable sensitivity as a contrast agent in T2, T2⁎-MR images.•The nanocomposite had great biocompatibility effect without cytotoxicity.