Single-Step Fabrication of Gd₂O₃@SiO₂ Nanoparticles for use as MRI Contrast Agents by Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid

Gd₂O₃@SiO₂ nanoparticles with a core-shell structure are synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL) in single steps. A Gd₂O₃ target immersed in tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) is ablated by a microsecond Nd:YAG laser, which induces the generation of a Gd₂O₃ plasma plume and pyrolysis of the TEOS. We propose that the moment Gd₂O₃ nanoparticles are formed they will be coated immediately by SiO₂ and directly synthesized Gd₂O₃@SiO₂ core-shell nanoparticles. These particles obtain high r₁ relaxivity of 5.26 s^?1mM^?1 and are used as T₁-weighted magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents. It is shown that the PLAL technique is promising for fabricating core-shell structure nanomaterial with potential medical applications.