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Published on: November 20, 2018
Tantalum oxide nanoparticles as versatile contrast agents for X-ray computed tomography
Shatadru Chakravarty1, Jeremy M L Hix, Kaitlyn A Wiewiora
1Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA. shapir86@msu.edu.
Tantalum oxide (TaOx) nanoparticles show promise as computed tomography (CT) contrast agents. These versatile nanoparticles offer high vascular contrast and can be functionalized for drug delivery, demonstrating excellent biocompatibility.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Biomedical Imaging
Background:
- Computed tomography (CT) requires effective contrast agents for enhanced imaging.
- Tantalum oxide (TaOx) nanoparticles (NPs) offer potential as novel contrast agents due to high atomic number.
- Development of biocompatible and functionalized NPs is crucial for biomedical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize tantalum oxide (TaOx) nanoparticles (NPs) for computed tomography (CT) applications.
- To evaluate the in vitro and in vivo performance of TaOx NPs as CT contrast agents.
- To explore the potential of TaOx NPs as CT-imagable drug delivery vehicles.
Main Methods:
- Sol-gel synthesis of silane-coated TaOx nanocrystals (NCs) with varying hydrophilicity.
- In vivo micro-CT imaging of vasculature and mammary gland ductal tree in mice.
- Encapsulation of TaOx NCs within mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs.
- In vitro cytocompatibility and dissolution studies.
Main Results:
- Synthesized TaOx NPs exhibited high tantalum content (78%) and tunable hydrophilicity.
- Intravenous injection of bare TaOx NPs provided high vascular CT contrast and circulation for ~3 hours.
- Local injection delineated mammary gland ductal structures; encapsulated NPs showed high signal enhancement at simulated tumor sites.
- In vitro studies confirmed high cytocompatibility and low TaOx dissolution.
Conclusions:
- TaOx-based NPs are versatile and effective contrast agents for CT imaging.
- Functionalized TaOx NPs hold potential for CT-guided drug delivery systems.
- The developed TaOx NPs demonstrate excellent biocompatibility and imaging performance in vivo.
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