title: Enhancing multimodality functional and molecular imaging using glucose-coated gold nanoparticles.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe how pegylated glucose-coated gold nanoparticles (PEG-Glu-GNPs) can help improve computed tomography (CT) imaging.
  
  
  METHODS
  PEG-Glu-GNPs were designed for use as an imaging nanoprobe to act an effective contrast agent for both CT and PET scans. Twelve BALB/c mice were divided into two groups: mice with injected with PEG-Glu-GNPs and control mice. The mice were examined using high-resolution micro-CT at different time intervals (24 h, 7 days, and 15 days) after the injection of the particles. Greyscale density and CT attenuation values were determined to trace the excretion of the particles over time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Tumour contours were easily distinguished from surrounding tissue in mice injected with PEG-Glu-GNPs but not controls. This distinction was still visible at 7 days, but not at 15 days post-injection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Molecular imaging technology has enabled the development of a new generation of imaging probes. These sophisticated probes can visualize biological processes or enable early diagnosis of diseases in vivo. Compared to conventional CT images and PET scans, PEG-Glu-GNPs significantly improved image quality at the cellular and molecular level, which can significantly aid the early detection of cancer or cancer metastases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 1Z2; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 1C9.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2V2; National Research Council of Canada / National Institute for Nanotechnology, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2M9. Electronic address: jc65@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005947:Glucose / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006046:Gold / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography
chemical_list: D006046:Gold; D005947:Glucose