Abstract
Cancer detection in its early stages is imperative for effective cancer treatment and patient survival. In recent years, biomedical imaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and ultrasound have been greatly developed and have served pivotal roles in clinical cancer management. Molecular imaging (MI) is a non-invasive imaging technique that monitors biological processes at the cellular and sub-cellular levels. To achieve these goals, MI uses targeted imaging agents that can bind targets of interest with high specificity and report on associated abnormalities, a task that cannot be performed by conventional imaging techniques. In this respect, MI holds great promise as a potential therapeutic tool for the early diagnosis of cancer. Nevertheless, the clinical applications of targeted imaging agents are limited due to their inability to overcome biological barriers inside the body. The use of nanoparticles has made it possible to overcome these limitations. Hence, nanoparticles have been the subject of a great deal of recent studies. Therefore, developing nanoparticle-based imaging agents that can target tumors via active or passive targeting mechanisms is desirable. This review focuses on the applications of various functionalized nanoparticle-based imaging agents used in MI for the early detection of cancer.
Highlights
Cancer is one of the world’s most debilitating diseases, and its mortality rates continue to increase
From in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, the results showed that when administered intravenously in mice bearing SKBr3 and KB tumors, targeted cross-linked iron oxide nanoparticles (CLIOs) selectively accumulated in the SKBr3 tumors but not in the KB tumors, as confirmed by the darkening of the tumors in T2-weighted images (Chen et al, 2009)
To prepare somatostatin receptors (SSR)-targeted contrast agents, one end of dicarboxylated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was attached to ultrasmall SPIOs (USPIOs), and the other end was conjugated to octreotide peptide (OP)
Summary
Cancer is one of the world’s most debilitating diseases, and its mortality rates continue to increase. From in vivo MRI studies, the results showed that when administered intravenously in mice bearing SKBr3 and KB tumors, targeted CLIOs selectively accumulated in the SKBr3 tumors but not in the KB tumors, as confirmed by the darkening of the tumors in T2-weighted images (Chen et al, 2009). To prepare SSR-targeted contrast agents, one end of dicarboxylated PEG was attached to USPIOs, and the other end was conjugated to OPs. In vitro MR imaging results revealed that the targeted nanoparticles displayed significantly lower T2 signal values, suggesting efficient uptake by breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells compared to non-targeted nanoparticles.
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