State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Hunan University. Key Laboratory for Bio-Nanotechnology and Molecule Engineering of Hunan Province, Changsha 410082, China.
Nanoscale. 2010 Oct;2(10):2244-9. doi: 10.1039/c0nr00359j. Epub 2010 Sep 8.
In this paper, we explore the possibility of using ultrasmall near-infrared (NIR) gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) as novel contrast imaging agents for tumor fluorescence imaging in vivo. The fluorescence imaging signal of the tail vein administrated AuNCs in living organisms can spectrally be well distinguished from the background with maximum emission wavelength at about 710 nm, and the high photostability of AuNCs promises continuous imaging in vivo. The uptake of AuNCs by the reticuloendothelial system is relatively low in comparison with other nanoparticle-based contrast imaging agents due to their ultrasmall hydrodynamic size (∼2.7 nm). Through the body weight change analysis, the results show that the body weight of the mice administrated with AuNCs has not been changed obviously in comparison with that of the control mice injected with PBS. Furthermore, using MDA-MB-45 and Hela tumor xenograft models, in vivo and ex vivo imaging studies show that the ultrasmall NIR AuNCs are able to be highly accumulated in the tumor areas, thanks to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effects. And the tumor-to-background ratio is about 15 for 6 h postinjection. The results indicate that the ultrasmall NIR AuNCs appear as very promising contrast imaging agents for in vivo fluorescence tumor imaging.
本文探索了使用超小近红外（NIR）金纳米团簇（AuNCs）作为新型对比成像剂进行体内肿瘤荧光成像的可能性。静脉注射 AuNCs 在活体内的荧光成像信号可以通过光谱很好地区别于背景，最大发射波长约为 710nm，AuNCs 的高光稳定性保证了在体内的连续成像。与其他基于纳米颗粒的对比成像剂相比，由于其超小的水动力尺寸（~2.7nm），AuNCs 被网状内皮系统摄取的量相对较低。通过体重变化分析，结果表明，与注射 PBS 的对照组小鼠相比，注射 AuNCs 的小鼠体重没有明显变化。此外，利用 MDA-MB-45 和 Hela 肿瘤异种移植模型，体内和体外成像研究表明，由于增强的通透性和保留（EPR）效应，超小近红外 AuNCs 能够高度聚集在肿瘤区域。注射后 6 小时，肿瘤与背景的比值约为 15。结果表明，超小近红外 AuNCs 作为体内荧光肿瘤成像的对比成像剂具有很大的应用前景。
