Nanomaterial Probes for Nuclear Imaging

Phua, Vanessa Jing Xin; Yang, Chang-Tong; Xia, Bin; Yan, Sean Xuexian; Liu, Jiang; Aw, Swee Eng; He, Tao; Ng, David Chee Eng

doi:10.3390/nano12040582

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Nanomaterial Probes for Nuclear Imaging

by

Vanessa Jing Xin Phua

¹

,

Chang-Tong Yang

^1,2,*

,

Bin Xia

³,

Sean Xuexian Yan

^1,2,

Jiang Liu

⁴,

Swee Eng Aw

^1,2,

Tao He

³ and

David Chee Eng Ng

^1,2

¹

Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Radiological Sciences Division, Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore 169608, Singapore

²

Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, Singapore 169857, Singapore

³

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China

⁴

Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, 1088 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen 518055, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(4), 582; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12040582

Submission received: 29 November 2021 / Revised: 28 January 2022 / Accepted: 2 February 2022 / Published: 9 February 2022

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology-Based Diagnostics)

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Abstract

Nuclear imaging is a powerful non-invasive imaging technique that is rapidly developing in medical theranostics. Nuclear imaging requires radiolabeling isotopes for non-invasive imaging through the radioactive decay emission of the radionuclide. Nuclear imaging probes, commonly known as radiotracers, are radioisotope-labeled small molecules. Nanomaterials have shown potential as nuclear imaging probes for theranostic applications. By modifying the surface of nanomaterials, multifunctional radio-labeled nanomaterials can be obtained for in vivo biodistribution and targeting in initial animal imaging studies. Various surface modification strategies have been developed, and targeting moieties have been attached to the nanomaterials to render biocompatibility and enable specific targeting. Through integration of complementary imaging probes to a single nanoparticulate, multimodal molecular imaging can be performed as images with high sensitivity, resolution, and specificity. In this review, nanomaterial nuclear imaging probes including inorganic nanomaterials such as quantum dots (QDs), organic nanomaterials such as liposomes, and exosomes are summarized. These new developments in nanomaterials are expected to introduce a paradigm shift in nuclear imaging, thereby creating new opportunities for theranostic medical imaging tools.

Keywords: nanomaterials; nanoparticles; molecular imaging probe; nuclear imaging; theranostics

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MDPI and ACS Style

Phua, V.J.X.; Yang, C.-T.; Xia, B.; Yan, S.X.; Liu, J.; Aw, S.E.; He, T.; Ng, D.C.E. Nanomaterial Probes for Nuclear Imaging. Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 582. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12040582

AMA Style

Phua VJX, Yang C-T, Xia B, Yan SX, Liu J, Aw SE, He T, Ng DCE. Nanomaterial Probes for Nuclear Imaging. Nanomaterials. 2022; 12(4):582. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12040582

Chicago/Turabian Style

Phua, Vanessa Jing Xin, Chang-Tong Yang, Bin Xia, Sean Xuexian Yan, Jiang Liu, Swee Eng Aw, Tao He, and David Chee Eng Ng. 2022. "Nanomaterial Probes for Nuclear Imaging" Nanomaterials 12, no. 4: 582. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12040582

APA Style

Phua, V. J. X., Yang, C.-T., Xia, B., Yan, S. X., Liu, J., Aw, S. E., He, T., & Ng, D. C. E. (2022). Nanomaterial Probes for Nuclear Imaging. Nanomaterials, 12(4), 582. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12040582

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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