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Published on: September 19, 2014
Nanoparticle-mediated radiopharmaceutical-excited fluorescence molecular imaging allows precise image-guided
Zhenhua Hu1, Chongwei Chi2, Muhan Liu2
1Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; The State Key Laboratory of Management and Control for Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Fluorescent molecular imaging technique has been actively explored for optical image-guided cancer surgery in pre-clinical and clinical research and has attracted many attentions. However, the efficacy of the fluorescent image-guided cancer surgery can be compromised by the low signal-to-noise ratio caused by the external light excitation. This study presents a novel nanoparticle-mediated radiopharmaceutical-excited fluorescent (REF) image-guided cancer surgery strategy, which employs the internal dual-excitation of europium oxide nanoparticles through both gamma rays and Cerenkov luminescence emitted from radiopharmaceuticals. The performance of the novel image-guided surgery technique was systematically evaluated using subcutaneous breast cancer 4 T1 tumor models, orthotropic and orthotropic-ectopic hepatocellular carcinoma tumor-bearing mice. The results reveal that the novel REF image-guided cancer surgery technique exhibits high performance of detecting invisible ultra-small size tumor (even less than 1 mm) and residual tumor tissue. Our study demonstrates the high potential of the novel image-guided cancer surgery for precise tumor resection.
Insights
A new radiopharmaceutical-excited fluorescent (REF) imaging technique uses nanoparticles for enhanced cancer surgery. This method improves tumor detection, even for small or residual tissues, enabling more precise surgical removal.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Optical image-guided cancer surgery is crucial but limited by low signal-to-noise ratios from external light excitation.
- Existing fluorescent molecular imaging techniques face challenges in efficacy due to external light interference.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and evaluate a novel nanoparticle-mediated radiopharmaceutical-excited fluorescent (REF) imaging strategy for image-guided cancer surgery.
- To overcome the limitations of external light excitation in fluorescent image-guided cancer surgery.
Main Methods:
- Developed a REF imaging strategy using europium oxide nanoparticles for dual-excitation via gamma rays and Cerenkov luminescence.
- Evaluated the technique in preclinical models, including subcutaneous breast cancer (4T1) and hepatocellular carcinoma (orthotropic and orthotropic-ectopic) in mice.
Main Results:
- The REF technique demonstrated high performance in detecting ultra-small tumors (less than 1 mm) and residual tumor tissues.
- Successfully identified invisible tumor margins and residual cancer post-resection in animal models.
Conclusions:
- The novel REF image-guided cancer surgery strategy shows significant potential for precise tumor resection.
- This internal excitation-based fluorescent imaging offers a promising advancement for improving surgical outcomes in oncology.
