Abstract
Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) combines the spectral selectivity of laser excitation with the high resolution of ultrasound imaging, representing a noninvasive modality that holds remarkable potential for clinical translation. In particular, multispectral optoacoustic tomography has emerged has an innovative PAI technology, which enables high detection specificity by resolving multiple spectral signatures through tissues and accurately decomposing the biodistribution of relevant molecules from non-specific background contributions. Key criteria for developing PAI contrast agents include strong absorbance in the near-infrared (NIR) tissue transparent region and low toxicity. In this study, we have fabricated gold nanotubes (Au NTs) with controlled length and NIR absorption for the application as in vivo MSOT contrast agents. The length control relies on the synthesis of silver nanorod template under certain growth conditions. The Au NTs were coated with a layer of biocompatible polymer, poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS), to ensure colloidal stability and low cytotoxicity. The PSS-Au NTs have shown excellent MSOT signal enhancement on tissue-mimicking phantom and in vivo, demonstrating the potential for further development towards a theranostic nanoplatform integrating PAI capability and therapeutic functions.
Highlights
Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) has been explored as an informative and promising imaging technology for medical diagnosis
The length of Ag NRs is determined by the reaction parameter including seed amount and growth temperature [7]
Au NTs were prepared via the galvanic replacement reaction of the sacrificial Ag NRs and AuCl4ions [8]
Summary
Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) has been explored as an informative and promising imaging technology for medical diagnosis. It is based on photoacoustic effect, follows a “light in and sound out” manner. Recent advances of fast-tuning lasers have boosted the emergence of multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT), a PAI technique which illuminates target at multiple wavelengths and enables the identification of the contributions from various photo-absorbers by spectral unmixing. The control of localized surface plasmon modes of gold nanomaterials allows the fine-tuning of their optical properties [3]. The majority of previously reported Au NTs have micro-sized lengths and lack optical absorption in NIR region, thereby limiting their PA capability and other biomedical applications. MSOT was used to assess the PA capability of the PSS-Au NTs on tissue-mimicking phantom and in living mice
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