Size-controlled one-pot polyol synthesis and characterization of D-glucuronic acid-coated ultrasmall BiOI nanoparticles as potential x-ray contrast agent

A polyol method is extremely useful for preparimg metal-containing nanoparticles coated with hydrophilic and biocompatible ligands for biomedical applications. In this study, D-glucuronic acid-coated BiOI nanoparticles were prepared in one-pot using this method. The particle diameter was controlled by varying the solvent volume such that the particle diameter decreased with increasing solvent volume: nanoparticles with average diameters of 1.9 (ultrasmall) and 6.1 nm were prepared at two solvent volumes. The x-ray attenuation properties of the ultrasmall nanoparticles were investigated because of their suitability for in vivo biomedical applications. D-glucuronic acid-coated ultrasmall BiOI nanoparticles were superior to the commercial molecular iodine contrast agent Ultravist^® in terms of x-ray attenuation, and showed the highest x-ray attenuation efficiency (η) of ∼21 HU/mM [Bi] that has ever been reported thus far, proving their potential as an extremely powerful x-ray contrast agent.