In vivo aggregation-induced transition between T₁and T₂relaxations of magnetic ultra-small iron oxide nanoparticles in tumor microenvironment

Surface ligands and their densities may significantly influence the optic, electric, and stable properties of inorganic nanoparticles as well as their magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characters. In this study, ultra-small iron oxide nanoparticles with hyaluronic acid as surface ligand (Fe3O4@HA) were designed to target tumor cells and tune the T1- and T2-weighted MRI by aggregating in the tumor microenvironment via the degradation of HA upon...