Europium-doped cerium oxide nanoparticle-impregnated Hyalgan® (CartiOxgel): an intra-articular contrast agent for X-ray CT and optical imaging.

Cartilage internalizing metal-oxide gel ("CartiOxgel"), a novel hybrid contrast agent, was developed for enhanced X-ray computed tomography (CT) and optical intra-articular (IA) imaging. The formulation comprises europium (Eu)-doped cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO NPs, C), denoted as Eu Cy NPs, which were incorporated into Hyalgan®, a commercial intra-articular (IA) injectable gel. Eu doping at 2% and 10% was achieved using a one-pot combustion method (as-prepared at 200 °C, = 2), followed by thermal treatment at 700 °C ( = 7) to investigate the effect of heat treatment on hybrid NP formation.