Lanthanopolyoxometalate‐Silica Core/Shell Nanoparticles as Potential MRI Contrast Agents

Patterned immobilization of polyoxometalate-loaded mesoporous silica particles via amine-ene Michael additions on alkene functionalized surfaces

Polyoxometalates (POM) are anionic oxoclusters of early transition metals that are of great interest for a variety of applications, including the development of sensors and catalysts. A crucial step in the use of POM in functional materials is the production of composites that can be further processed into complex materials, e.g. by printing on different substrates. In this work, we present an immobilization approach for POMs that involves two key processes: first, the stable encapsulation of POMs in the pores of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSPs) and, second, the formation of microstructured arrays with these POM-loaded nanoparticles. Specifically, we have developed a strategy that leads to water-stable, POM-loaded mesoporous silica that can be covalently linked to alkene-bearing surfaces by amine-Michael addition and patterned into microarrays by scanning probe lithography (SPL). The immobilization strategy presented facilitates the printing of hybrid POM-loaded nanomaterials onto different surfaces and provides a versatile method for the fabrication of POM-based composites. Importantly, POM-loaded MSPs are useful in applications such as microfluidic systems and sensors that require frequent washing. Overall, this method is a promising way to produce surface-printed POM arrays that can be used for a wide range of applications.

NMR Relaxivities of Paramagnetic Lanthanide-Containing Polyoxometalates

The current trend for ultra-high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies opens up new routes in clinical diagnostic imaging as well as in material imaging applications. MRI selectivity is further improved by using contrast agents (CAs), which enhance the image contrast and improve specificity by the paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) mechanism. Generally, the efficacy of a CA at a given magnetic field is measured by its longitudinal and transverse relaxivities r1 and r2, i.e., the longitudinal and transverse relaxation rates T1-1 and T2-1 normalized to CA concentration. However, even though basic NMR sensitivity and resolution become better in stronger fields, r1 of classic CA generally decreases, which often causes a reduction of the image contrast. In this regard, there is a growing interest in the development of new contrast agents that would be suitable to work at higher magnetic fields. One of the strategies to increase imaging contrast at high magnetic field is to inspect other paramagnetic ions than the commonly used Gd(III)-based CAs. For lanthanides, the magnetic moment can be higher than that of the isotropic Gd(III) ion. In addition, the symmetry of electronic ground state influences the PRE properties of a compound apart from diverse correlation times. In this work, PRE of water 1H has been investigated over a wide range of magnetic fields for aqueous solutions of the lanthanide containing polyoxometalates [DyIII(H2O)4GeW11O39]5- (Dy-W11), [ErIII(H2O)3GeW11O39]5- (Er-W11) and [{ErIII(H2O)(CH3COO)(P2W17O61)}2]16- (Er2-W34) over a wide range of frequencies from 20 MHz to 1.4 GHz. Their relaxivities r1 and r2 increase with increasing applied fields. These results indicate that the three chosen POM systems are potential candidates for contrast agents, especially at high magnetic fields.