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Bismuth Selenide Nanostructured Clusters as Optical Coherence Tomography Contrast Agents: Beyond Gold-Based
Jingke Yao1, Tamara Muñoz-Ortiz1, Francisco Sanz-Rodríguez2,3
1Nanomaterials for Bioimaging Group (nanoBIG), Departamento de Física de Materiales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Francisco Tomás y Valiente 7, Madrid 28049, Spain.
ACS Photonics
|February 28, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed affordable bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) nanoclusters as an alternative to gold nanoshells for optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. These biocompatible clusters offer comparable performance to gold nanoshells in OCT imaging and photothermal therapy.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Biomedical Imaging
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a key clinical imaging technique for minimally invasive optical biopsies.
- Gold nanoshells (GNSs) are effective OCT contrast agents but are expensive and time-consuming to produce.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a cost-effective and efficient alternative contrast agent for OCT imaging.
- To evaluate the performance of bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) nanostructured clusters as OCT contrast agents and photothermal therapy agents.
Main Methods:
- Microwave-assisted synthesis of Bi2Se3 nanostructured clusters with desert rose morphology.
- In vitro evaluation of Bi2Se3 clusters as OCT contrast agents.
- Assessment of photon-to-heat conversion efficiency for photothermal therapy applications.
Main Results:
- Bi2Se3 nanoclusters were prepared rapidly (minutes) using a microwave-assisted method.
- The nanoclusters exhibit strong near-infrared extinction properties and high photon-to-heat conversion efficiency (~50%).
- In vitro studies demonstrated that Bi2Se3 clusters are effective OCT contrast agents with performance comparable to GNSs.
Conclusions:
- Bi2Se3 nanostructured clusters represent a promising, affordable alternative to GNSs for OCT imaging.
- These biocompatible clusters are suitable for both OCT contrast enhancement and photothermal therapy.
