Synthesis of colloidal silver, platinum, and mixture of silver-platinum nanoparticles using pulsed laser ablation as contrast agent in computed tomography

Introduction : Over the last seven years, the development of nanoparticles as computed tomography (CT) contrast agents has increased significantly. In this present work, syntheses of colloidal silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs), and silver-platinum nanoparticles (Ag-Pt NPs) have been successfully performed using pulsed laser ablation method in deionized water media.Materials and Methods : Experimentally, an neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser (1064 nm, 45 mJ, 10 Hz) was focused on a high-purity metal plate including Ag and Pt plates, which are placed in deionized water medium. Colloidal Ag NPs has been succesfully produced with a dark brownish-yellow color with an averaged diameter of 24 nm. For colloidal Pt NPs, the liquid has transparent color with an averaged diameter of 20 nm. Both colloidal nanoparticles of Ag and Pt were then mixed to obtain a mixture composition of Ag and Pt with ratios of Ag:Pt of 75:25%, 50:50%, 25:75%, respectively, with a concentration of each of 10 part per million (ppm). The Ag NPs, Pt NPs, and Ag-Pt NPs mixture were then examined as contrast agents in computed tomography (CT) scan. The CT Scan was set at 80 kV and 100 mAs. Results: The imaging results of these agents were measured in Hounsfield Unit (HU), showing 13.5, 12.8, 13.3, 14.1, and 17.3 HUs for colloidal Ag NPs only, colloidal Ag and Pt NPs with ratios of Ag:Pt of 75:25%, 50:50%, 25:75%, and colloidal Pt NPs only, respectively.Conclusion: These findings confirmed that for colloidal solution containing high concentration of platinum (Pt NPs only and colloidal Ag and Pt NPs with ratio of 25:75%) has higher HU values compared to the case of Pt NPs. The higher HU value for platinium can be attributed to its higher density.