Design of Au/SPIO composite nanoparticle for facile and biocompatible surface functionalization via Au–S bond

Immobilization of Au nanoparticles on super-paramagnetic iron-oxide (SPIO) enables facile and biocompatible surface functionalization via Au–S bond. Au/SPIO composite nanoparticle is easily modified by thiol-modified polyethylene glycol (PEG-SH), and they are successfully applied on MR tumor imaging. However, its large hydrodynamic size (∼150 nm) still causes the accumulation to liver in vivo. In this study, we controlled the hydrodynamic size of Au/SPIO by testing different raw SPIOs and stabilizing polymers. As the best candidate, Au/Molday-ION which was synthesized from Molday-ION and polyvinyl alcohol comprised the hydrodynamic size of 56 nm. Moreover, PEGylated Au/Molday-ION showed excellent dispersibility in blood serum, with the hydrodynamic size of 65 nm. This surface functionalization strategy is effective for the constructions of magnetic nanocarriers for in vivo applications.