Second generation gold nanobeacons for robust K-edge imaging with multi-energy CT
- 13 September 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in Journal of Materials Chemistry
- Vol. 22 (43), 23071-23077
- https://doi.org/10.1039/c2jm35334b
Abstract
Spectral CT is the newest advancement in CT imaging technology, which enhances traditional CT images with it’s the capability to image and quantify certain elements based on their distinctive K-edge energies. The K-edge imaging feature recognizes high accumulations of targeted elements and presents them as colorized voxels against the normal grayscale X-ray background offering promise to overcome the relatively low inherent contrast within soft tissue and distinguish the high attenuation of calcium from contrast enhanced targets. Towards this aim, second generation gold nanobeacons (GNB2), which incorporate at least five times more metal than the previous generation, were developed. The particles were synthesized as lipid-encapsulated, vascularly constrained (>120 nm) nanoparticles incorporating tiny gold nanoparticles (2–4 nm) within a polysorbate core. The choice of core material dictated the achievement of a higher metal loading. The particles were thoroughly characterized by physico-chemical techniques. This study reports one of the earlier examples of spectral CT imaging with gold nanoparticles demonstrating the potential for targeted in vitro and in vivo imaging and eliminates calcium interference with CT. The use of statistical image reconstruction shows that high SNR may allow dose reduction and/or faster scan times.Keywords
This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- Photon counting spectral CT: improved material decomposition with K-edge-filtered x-raysPhysics in Medicine & Biology, 2012
- Computed Tomography in Color: NanoK‐Enhanced Spectral CT Molecular ImagingAngewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2010
- Atherosclerotic Plaque Composition: Analysis with Multicolor CT and Targeted Gold NanoparticlesRadiology, 2010
- A novel functional CT contrast agent for molecular imaging of cancerPhysics in Medicine & Biology, 2010
- Molecular Photoacoustic Tomography with Colloidal NanobeaconsAngewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2009
- Experimental feasibility of multi-energy photon-counting K-edge imaging in pre-clinical computed tomographyPhysics in Medicine & Biology, 2008
- K-edge imaging in x-ray computed tomography using multi-bin photon counting detectorsPhysics in Medicine & Biology, 2007
- Noninvasive detection of macrophages using a nanoparticulate contrast agent for computed tomographyNature Medicine, 2007
- Molecular Imaging of Human Thrombus with Computed TomographyAcademic Radiology, 2005
- A Novel Site-Targeted Ultrasonic Contrast Agent With Broad Biomedical ApplicationCirculation, 1996