Jin Sil Choi

Exchange-coupled magnetic nanoparticles for efficient heat induction.

The conversion of electromagnetic energy into heat by nanoparticles has the potential to be a powerful, non-invasive technique for biotechnology applications such as drug release, disease treatment and remote control of single cell functions, but poor conversion efficiencies have hindered practical applications so far. In this Letter, we demonstrate a significant increase in the efficiency of magnetic thermal induction by nanoparticles. We take advantage of the exchange coupling between a magnetically hard core and magnetically soft shell to tune the magnetic properties of the nanoparticle and maximize the specific loss power, which is a gauge of the conversion efficiency. The optimized core-shell magnetic nanoparticles have specific loss power values that are an order of magnitude larger than conventional iron-oxide nanoparticles. We also perform an antitumour study in mice, and find that the therapeutic efficacy of these nanoparticles is superior to that of a common anticancer drug.

Self-Confirming “AND” Logic Nanoparticles for Fault-Free MRI

Achieving high accuracy in the imaging of biological targets is a challenging issue. For MRI, to enhance imaging accuracy, two different imaging modes with specific contrast agents are used; one is a T1 type for a positive MRI signal and the other is a T2 type for a negative signal. Conventional contrast agents respond only in a single imaging mode and frequently encounter ambiguities in the MR images. Here, we propose a magnetically decoupled core-shell design concept to develop a dual mode nanoparticle contrast agent (DMCA). This DMCA not only possesses superior MR contrast effects but also has the unique capability of displaying AND logic signals in both the T1 and T2 modes. The latter enables self-confirmation of images and leads to greater diagnostic accuracy. A variety of novel DMCAs are possible, and the use of DMCAs can potentially bring the accuracy of MR imaging of diseases to a higher level.

Nanoparticle Assemblies as Memristors

Recently a memristor ( Chua, L. O. IEEE Trans. Circuit Theory 1971 , 18 , 507 ), the fourth fundamental passive circuit element, has been demonstrated as thin film device operations ( Strukov, D. B.; Snider, G. S.; Stewart, D. R.; Williams, R. S. Nature (London) 2008 , 453 , 80 ; Yang, J. J.; Pickett. M. D.; Li, X.; Ohlberg, D. A. A.; Stewart, D. R.; Williams, R. S. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2008 , 3 , 429 ). A new addition to the memristor family can be nanoparticle assemblies consisting of an infinite number of monodispersed, crystalline magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)) particles. Assembly of nanoparticles that have sizes below 10 nm, exhibits at room temperature a voltage-current hysteresis with an abrupt and large bipolar resistance switching (R(OFF)/R(ON) approximately 20). Interestingly, observed behavior could be interpreted by adopting an extended memristor model that combines both a time-dependent resistance and a time-dependent capacitance. We also observed that such behavior is not restricted to magnetites; it is a general property of nanoparticle assemblies as it was consistently observed in different types of spinel structured nanoparticles with different sizes and compositions. Further investigation into this new nanoassembly system will be of importance to the realization of the next generation nanodevices with potential advantages of simpler and inexpensive device fabrications.

T 1 and T 2 dual-mode MRI contrast agent for enhancing accuracy by engineered nanomaterials

One of the holy grails in biomedical imaging technology is to achieve accurate imaging of biological targets. The development of sophisticated instrumentation and the use of contrast agents have improved the accuracy of biomedical imaging. However, the issue of false imaging remains a problem. Here, we developed a dual-mode artifact filtering nanoparticle imaging agent (AFIA) that comprises a combination of paramagnetic and superparamagnetic nanomaterials. This AFIA has the ability to perform AND logic gate algorithm to eliminate false errors (artifacts) from the raw images to enhance accuracy of the MRI. We confirm the artifact filtering capability of AFIA in MRI phantoms and further demonstrate that artifact-free imaging of stem cell migration is possible in vivo.

Distance-dependent magnetic resonance tuning as a versatile MRI sensing platform for biological targets

Nanoscale distance-dependent phenomena, such as Förster resonance energy transfer, are important interactions for use in sensing and imaging, but their versatility for bioimaging can be limited by undesirable photon interactions with the surrounding biological matrix, especially in in vivo systems. Here, we report a new type of magnetism-based nanoscale distance-dependent phenomenon that can quantitatively and reversibly sense and image intra-/intermolecular interactions of biologically important targets. We introduce distance-dependent magnetic resonance tuning (MRET), which occurs between a paramagnetic enhancer and a superparamagnetic quencher, where the T1 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal is tuned ON or OFF depending on the separation distance between the quencher and the enhancer. With MRET, we demonstrate the principle of an MRI-based ruler for nanometre-scale distance measurement and the successful detection of both molecular interactions (for example, cleavage, binding, folding and unfolding) and biological targets in in vitro and in vivo systems. MRET can serve as a novel sensing principle to augment the exploration of a wide range of biological systems.