Iron content titanium dioxide nanoparticles as exogenous contrast agent for tissue imaging using swept-source optical coherence tomography

Ex vivo tissue imaging was performed by swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) using titanium dioxide (TiO2) and Fe content TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). The comparative effects of TiO2 and Fe content TiO2 NPs in terms of contrast enhancement, penetration, scattering, and accumulation in the chicken breast tissue have been monitored at different exposure times. Powder NP samples were synthesized using the sol–gel method, and characterization was carried out via transmission electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy techniques. Fe incorporation in the TiO2 matrix reduces its toxic effect on tissue skin and produces a safe exogenous contrast agent, which is analyzed by SS-OCT. The scattering coefficients and contrast to noise ratio of the tissues with and without NPs were determined to study the imaging efficacy. The improvement in the coefficient was observed with an increase in the exposure time of NPs. Nano-TiO2 has shown the ability to penetrate within the tissue layer up to 780 µm while Fe content TiO2 NPs samples showed the lowest rate of penetration up to 210 µm after a 30 min time interval.