Abstract
Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have been established as sensitive probes for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). While the majority of specific nanosensors are based on sterically stabilized iron oxide particles, the focus of this review is on the use of very small iron oxide particles (VSOPs) that are electrostatically stabilized by an anionic citrate acid shell. We used VSOPs to develop target-specific as well as protease-activatable nanosensors for molecular MRI.