Journal
NANOTECHNOLOGY
Volume 32, Issue 49, Pages -Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ac21ef
Keywords
silver nanotriangles; contrast agent; tumor; computed tomography imaging
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [81771980, 81571805]
- National Key Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) [2013CB933904]
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This study successfully prepared chitosan-coated silver nanotriangles with strong x-ray attenuation capability, which showed better contrast effect compared to iohexol. Larger sized AgNTs demonstrated higher x-ray attenuation coefficient, indicating potential application as efficient tumor CT contrast agents.
This study aimed to prepare chitosan-coated silver nanotriangles (AgNTs) and assess their computed tomography (CT) contrast property by in vitro and in vivo experiments. AgNTs with a range of sizes were synthesized by a seed-based growth method, and subsequently characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. The x-ray attenuation capability of all prepared AgNTs was evaluated using micro CT. The CT contrast effect of AgNTs with the highest x-ray attenuation coefficient was investigated in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and a mouse model of breast cancer. The TEM results displayed that all synthesized AgNTs were triangular in shape and their mean edge lengths ranged from 60 to 149 nm. All AgNTs tested exhibited stronger x-ray attenuation capability than iohexol at the same mass concentration of the active elements, and the larger the AgNTs size, the higher the x-ray attenuation coefficient. AgNTs with the largest size were selected for further research, due to their strongest x-ray attenuation capability and best biocompatibility. The attenuation coefficient of breast cancer cells treated with AgNTs increased in a particle concentration-dependent manner. In vivo CT imaging showed that the contrast of the tumor injected with AgNTs was significantly enhanced. These findings indicated that AgNTs could be a promising candidate for highly efficient tumor CT contrast agents.
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