Nitrogen-vacancy center magnetic imaging of Fe3O4 nanoparticles inside the gastrointestinal tract of Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Widefield magnetometry based on nitrogen-vacancy centers enables high spatial resolution imaging of magnetic field distributions without a need for spatial scanning. In this work, we show nitrogen-vacancy center magnetic imaging of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles within the gastrointestinal tract of Drosophila melanogaster larvae. Vector magnetic field imaging based on optically detected magnetic resonance is carried out on dissected larvae intestine organs containing accumulations of externally loaded magnetic nanoparticles. The distribution of the magnetic nanoparticles within the tissue can be clearly deduced from the magnetic stray field measurements. Spatially resolved magnetic imaging requires the nitrogen-vacancy centers to be very close to the sample making the technique particularly interesting for thin tissue samples. This study is a proof of principle showing the capability of nitrogen-vacancy center magnetometry as a technique to detect magnetic nanoparticle distributions in Drosophila melanogaster larvae that can be extended to other biological systems.