Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026
Contrast Enhanced Vessel Imaging using MicroCT
Published on: January 27, 2011
Colloidal gold nanoparticles as a blood-pool contrast agent for X-ray computed tomography in mice
Quan-Yu Cai1, Sun Hee Kim, Kyu Sil Choi
1Department of Radiology, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Jeonbuk, South Korea.
Objectives:
To present the pharmacokinetics and computed tomographic imaging efficacy of colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as a blood-pool agent for x-ray computed tomography (CT).
Methods And Materials:
To prepare the colloidal AuNPs, gold nanocrystals were modified using sulfhydrated polyethylene glycol (PEG). Cytotoxicity and histopathologic tests were carried out for toxicity evaluation. Six adult Balb/c mice underwent microcomputed tomography scans after injection of colloidal AuNPs (2.5 micromol Au/g body weight). Four mice with HT-1080 tumors were imaged for visualization of the tumor vasculature.
Results:
The PEG coated colloidal AuNPs appeared as spherical nanoparticles with 38-nm diameters. The AuNPs-PEG showed a biocompatibility without toxicity in the mice. We identified a stable imaging window for visualizing the vasculature system, immediately to 24 hours after injection. Microcomputed tomography imaging using AuNPs-PEG clearly visualized the tumor vascular structures.
Conclusion:
Colloidal AuNPs show potential as a blood-pool agent for x-ray CT imaging.
