Design, synthesis and evaluation of dual-modality glyco-nanoparticles for tumor imaging

d-Glucosamine (DG) was conjugated to a core-cross linked polymeric micelle (CCPM) system equipped with both a near-infrared fluorophore (NIRF) and a gamma emitter (111In). The resultant nano-scale tumor-targeting imaging tracer, 111In-DG-NIRF-CCPM, selectively accumulated in a human epithelial carcinoma A-431 xenograft model in mice. At 24 hrs post injection, the tumor uptake was 2.62 ± 0.80 % of the injected dose per gram of tissue (%ID/g). Tumors were clearly delineated in both single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and optical imaging. The results suggest that the prepared imaging tracer is a promising agent for tumor diagnosis.