curcumin coated ultra-small iron oxide nanoparticles as t1 contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging of cancer cells

Background: the application of nanotechnology in the molecular diagnosis and treatment of cancer is essential.objective: this study aimed to investigate the influence of curcumin-coated ultra-small superparamagnetic iron oxide (uspio) as a t1 contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging (mri). .material and methods: in this experimental study, the influence of curcumin-coated uspio (fe3o4@c) on the diagnosis of the cancer cell line was investigated. after synthesis, characterization, and relaxation of fe3o4@c, the contrast changes in t1-weight mri to mouse colon carcinoma 26 cell line were evaluated in vitro.results: fe3o4@c nanoparticles (nps) are good at imaging; based on a relaxometry test, the r1 and r2 relaxivities of dotarem were 3.139 and 0.603 mm−1s−1, respectively. additionally, the r1 and r2 relaxivities of fe3o4@c were 3.792 and 1.3 mm−1s−1, respectively, with the rate of 2.155 of r2/r1 nps. conclusion: the nps can be identified as a positive contrast agent with a weight of t1 in mri. the coresh-ell fe3o4@c nps can be effective in cancer treatment and diagnosis because of the therapeutic effects of curcumin and the properties of uspio.