title: Photoacoustic tomography of a rat cerebral cortex in vivo with au nanocages as an optical contrast agent.
abstract: Poly(ethylene glycol)-coated Au nanocages have been evaluated as a potential near-infrared (NIR) contrast agent for photoacoustic tomography (PAT). Previously, Au nanoshells were found to be an effective NIR contrast agent for PAT; however, Au nanocages with their more compact sizes (<50 nm compared to >100 nm for Au nanoshells) and larger optical absorption cross sections should be better suited for in vivo applications. We sequentially injected Au nanocages into the circulatory system of a rat in three administrations and in vivo PAT was conducted immediately prior to the first injection and continued until 5 h after the final injection. A gradual enhancement of the optical absorption in the cerebral cortex, by up to 81%, was observed over the course of the experiment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO 63130, USA.
authors.forename: Xinmai
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Sara E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Skrabalak
authors.forename: Zhi-Yuan
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Younan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Lihong V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003287:Contrast Media; D006046:Gold; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007834:Lasers; D053758:Nanoparticles; D011859:Radiography; D051381:Rats; D014054:Tomography / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D006046:Gold