Light-Driven Dissolution of Ultrasmall Maghemite Nanoparticles: The Role of Ligand and Photon Energy
14 affiliations
- 1Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology
- 2Central University
- 3A.M. Prokhorov Institute of General Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IGF RAS
- 4N.N. Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology
- 5Faculty of Physics
- 6M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
- 7Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry RAS
- 8Laboratory of Biophysics
- 9National University of Science and Technology MISIS
- 10International Research and Education Centre for Physics of Nanostructures, ITMOUniversity
- 11Institute of Neurosciences
- 12Lobachevsky State University
- 13Department of Genetics and Life Sciences
- 14Sirius University
Abstract
Light-controlled conversion of iron oxide nanoparticles into redox-active soluble iron offers a route toward externally triggered, image-guided ferroptosis strategies, but the physicochemical factors governing this process remain poorly understood. Here, visible-light-driven dissolution of ultrasmall citrate-stabilized maghemite nanoparticles (3.4 ± 0.8 nm) is shown to arise from a competition between iron release and nanoparticle aggregation. The process involves iron oxide reduction, ferrous iron release, citrate detachment and oxidation, and subsequent nanoparticle aggregation. The effects of citric acid and photon energy are systematically examined, revealing their key roles in regulating dissolution and aggregation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spatially resolved diffuse reflectance are used to monitor these changes in biologically relevant environments, including tissue-mimicking phantoms. MRI contrast evolves predictably with irradiation time, supporting the use of these particles as responsive imaging probes. In glioblastoma cells, green-light irradiation of internalized maghemite nanoparticles induces mitochondrial cytochrome oxidation. Cell-viability assays further reveal a non-monotonic concentration dependence under blue and green light, with lower nanoparticle concentrations producing stronger cytotoxic effects. These results establish a light-controlled, ligandassisted dissolution/aggregation strategy in which photon energy and ligand availability govern iron release, colloidal stability, imaging response, and light-induced cellular toxicity.
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BibTeX
@misc{tsiurko2026lightdriven,
title = {{Light-Driven Dissolution of Ultrasmall Maghemite Nanoparticles: The Role of Ligand and Photon Energy}},
author = {Dmitrii Tsiurko and Ekaterina Moiseeva and Sergei German and Daria Terentyeva and Arsen Zotov and Alina Platonova and Vsevolod Skribitsky and Nadezda Brazhe and Zhanna Bochkova and Alexander Vaneev and Semen Domarev and Timofei Torokhov and Sergey Kulikov and Victoria Turubanova and Alexander Erofeev and Vladimir Oleinikov and Alexey Lipengolts and Anna Orlova and Dmitry Gorin},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15009948/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009948/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Light-Driven Dissolution of Ultrasmall Maghemite Nanoparticles: The Role of Ligand and Photon Energy
AU - Dmitrii Tsiurko
AU - Ekaterina Moiseeva
AU - Sergei German
AU - Daria Terentyeva
AU - Arsen Zotov
AU - Alina Platonova
AU - Vsevolod Skribitsky
AU - Nadezda Brazhe
AU - Zhanna Bochkova
AU - Alexander Vaneev
AU - Semen Domarev
AU - Timofei Torokhov
AU - Sergey Kulikov
AU - Victoria Turubanova
AU - Alexander Erofeev
AU - Vladimir Oleinikov
AU - Alexey Lipengolts
AU - Anna Orlova
AU - Dmitry Gorin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15009948/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009948/v1
AB - Light-controlled conversion of iron oxide nanoparticles into redox-active soluble iron offers a route toward externally triggered, image-guided ferroptosis strategies, but the physicochemical factors governing this process remain poorly understood. Here, visible-light-driven dissolution of ultrasmall citrate-stabilized maghemite nanoparticles (3.4 ± 0.8 nm) is shown to arise from a competition between iron release and nanoparticle aggregation. The process involves iron oxide reduction, ferrous iron release, citrate detachment and oxidation, and subsequent nanoparticle aggregation. The effects of citric acid and photon energy are systematically examined, revealing their key roles in regulating dissolution and aggregation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spatially resolved diffuse reflectance are used to monitor these changes in biologically relevant environments, including tissue-mimicking phantoms. MRI contrast evolves predictably with irradiation time, supporting the use of these particles as responsive imaging probes. In glioblastoma cells, green-light irradiation of internalized maghemite nanoparticles induces mitochondrial cytochrome oxidation. Cell-viability assays further reveal a non-monotonic concentration dependence under blue and green light, with lower nanoparticle concentrations producing stronger cytotoxic effects. These results establish a light-controlled, ligandassisted dissolution/aggregation strategy in which photon energy and ligand availability govern iron release, colloidal stability, imaging response, and light-induced cellular toxicity.
ER -