Molecular photoacoustic imaging with ultrasmall gold nanoparticles

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

43 Scopus citations

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) below 10 nm in size can undergo renal clearance, which could facilitate their clinical translation. However, due to non-linear, direct relationship between their absorption and size, use of such “ultra-small” AuNPs as contrast agents for photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is challenging. This problem is complicated by the tendency of absorption for ultra-small AuNPs to be below the NIR range, which is optimal for in vivo imaging. Herein, we present 5-nm molecularly activated plasmonic nanosensors (MAPS) that produce a strong photoacoustic signal in labeled cancer cells in the NIR, demonstrating the feasibility of sensitive PAI with ultra-small AuNPs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3472-3483
Number of pages12
JournalBiomedical Optics Express
Volume10
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2019

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

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