Compact chelator-free Ni-integrated CuS nanoparticles with tunable near-infrared absorption and enhanced relaxivity for in vivo dual-modal photoacoustic/MR imaging†
Abstract
A chelator-free doping method is developed for constructing a Ni-integrated CuS nanostructure as a novel PA/MRI contrast agent. It exhibits tunable near-infrared absorption. Moreover, the hybrid nanostructure has demonstrated a dramatically enhanced T1 relaxivity compared with Ni ions. Due to these unique properties, chelator-free nanoparticles have been successfully applied for in vivo PA/MRI dual-modal imaging.