Kim Johoon, Silva Alexander B, Hsu Jessica C, Maidment Portia S N, Shapira Nadav, Noël Peter B, Cormode David P
Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce St, 1 Silverstein, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce St, 1 Silverstein, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Chem Mater. 2020 Jan 14;32(1):381-391. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.9b03931. Epub 2019 Dec 4.
Numerous formulations of nanoparticle-based X-ray computed tomography (CT) contrast agents made of heavy metal elements are under investigation for their ability to provide improved CT imaging. Thus far, most experimental nanoparticle-based CT contrast agents have been developed with atoms of a single element. However, inspired by the composites formed from multiple elements used in radioprotective garments, we hypothesized that contrast agents made of several elements whose K-edge energies are spaced out in the high photon flux region could achieve high, broadband X-ray attenuation across the energies used in X-ray source spectra. Herein, we synthesized sub-5 nm core inorganic nanoparticles containing gold, tantalum, and cerium, and encapsulated them in polymeric nanoparticles to form polymetal nanoparticles (PMNP). We found that PMNP with multiple payload elements generate higher and more stable CT contrast than contrast agents made from a single contrast generating material, demonstrating the potential benefits of incorporating multiple suitable elements as CT contrast payloads.
基于重金属元素的纳米颗粒X射线计算机断层扫描（CT）造影剂的多种配方正在研究中，以考察其提供改进的CT成像的能力。到目前为止，大多数基于纳米颗粒的实验性CT造影剂都是由单一元素的原子开发的。然而，受用于辐射防护服的多种元素形成的复合材料的启发，我们推测，由几种在高光子通量区域其K边能量间隔开的元素制成的造影剂可以在X射线源光谱中使用的能量范围内实现高宽带X射线衰减。在此，我们合成了含有金、钽和铈的亚5纳米核心无机纳米颗粒，并将它们封装在聚合物纳米颗粒中以形成多金属纳米颗粒（PMNP）。我们发现，与由单一造影剂生成材料制成的造影剂相比，具有多种负载元素的PMNP能产生更高且更稳定的CT造影，这证明了将多种合适元素作为CT造影剂负载的潜在益处。
