Rapid microwave-assisted synthesis of dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for magnetic resonance imaging.

Currently, magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles are the only nanosized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents approved for clinical use, yet commercial manufacturing of these agents has been limited or discontinued. Though there is still widespread demand for these particles both for clinical use and research, they are difficult to obtain commercially, and complicated syntheses make in-house preparation unfeasible for most biological research labs or clinics. To make commercial production viable and increase accessibility of these products, it is crucial to develop simple, rapid and reproducible preparations of biocompatible iron oxide nanoparticles. Here, we report a rapid, straightforward microwave-assisted synthesis of superparamagnetic dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were produced in two hydrodynamic sizes with differing core morphologies by varying the synthetic method as either a two-step or single-step process. A striking benefit of these methods is the ability to obtain swift and consistent results without the necessity for air-, pH- or temperature-sensitive techniques; therefore, reaction times and complex manufacturing processes are greatly reduced as compared to conventional synthetic methods. This is a great benefit for cost-effective translation to commercial production. The nanoparticles are found to be superparamagnetic and exhibit properties consistent for use in MRI. In addition, the dextran coating imparts the water solubility and biocompatibility necessary for in vivo utilization.

Antimicrobial properties of a multi-component alloy.

High traffic touch surfaces such as doorknobs, countertops, and handrails can be transmission points for the spread of pathogens, emphasizing the need to develop materials that actively self-sanitize. Metals are frequently used for these surfaces due to their durability, but many metals also possess antimicrobial properties which function through a variety of mechanisms. This work investigates metallic alloys comprised of several metals which individually possess antimicrobial properties, with the target of achieving broad-spectrum, rapid sanitation through synergistic activity. An entropy-motivated stabilization paradigm is proposed to prepare scalable alloys of copper, silver, nickel and cobalt. Using combinatorial sputtering, thin-film alloys were prepared on 100 mm wafers with ≈50% compositional grading of each element across the wafer. The films were then annealed and investigated for alloy stability. Antimicrobial activity testing was performed on both the as-grown alloys and the annealed films using four microorganisms-Phi6, MS2, Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli-as surrogates for human viral and bacterial pathogens. Testing showed that after 30 s of contact with some of the test alloys, Phi6, an enveloped, single-stranded RNA bacteriophage that serves as a SARS-CoV-2 surrogate, was reduced up to 6.9 orders of magnitude (> 99.9999%). Additionally, the non-enveloped, double-stranded DNA bacteriophage MS2, and the Gram-negative E. coli and Gram-positive B. subtilis bacterial strains showed a 5.0, 6.4, and 5.7 log reduction in activity after 30, 20 and 10 min, respectively. Antimicrobial activity in the alloy samples showed a strong dependence on the composition, with the log reduction scaling directly with the Cu content. Concentration of Cu by phase separation after annealing improved activity in some of the samples. The results motivate a variety of themes which can be leveraged to design ideal antimicrobial surfaces.