Synthesis and characterization of Bi2S3 composite nanoparticles with high X-ray absorption

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Uniform Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} nanorods were prepared via a hot injection method. • Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} nanorods were coated with TEOS and PEG for surface modification. • CT images of Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3}@SiO{sub 2}-PEG are much higher than clinical iobitridol when they have the same concentration. • Cellular toxicity of Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3}@SiO{sub 2}-PEG is low when the probes were directly in contact with tissue fluid. - Abstract: Owing to the high X-ray absorption, Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} nanocrystals are widely used as CT contrast agents. Here, we prepared uniform Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} nanorods via a hot injection method using bismuth (III) chloride, sulfur and oleyl amine. The resulting nanocrystals were coated with tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and 2-[methoxy(polyethyleneoxy)propyl]yrimethoxysilane (PEG-silane) for the biological utility. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that the Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} nanorods had an orthorhombic structure with the length of 14 nm and the diameter of 7 nm, respectively. Composite nanoparticles (0.0226 M) gave a CT number at 550 (HU), which was higher than that of the commercial available iobitridol CT contrast agent. Furthermore, cell experiments revealed that Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} composite nanoparticles had a low cytotoxicity with a concentrationmore » up to 0.01 M of Bi for 24 h.« less