Desorption of gold ions from liver tissue sections, in which intravenously injected gold nanorods were accumulated, were studied to evaluate properties of gold nanorods as a "mass-tag". Gold ions were sensitively detected by using a conventional MALDI-MS machine. When 50-µm-thick blank sections without gold nanorods were placed on or beneath a sample section, desorption of gold ions was almost suppressed. It was found that the escape depth of gold ions from liver tissue sections was less than 50 µm. It was found that we do not have to take account of the escape depth of gold ions if a section were sliced into 10-20 µm thickness.

The synthesis of biocompatible noble metal nanoparticles dispersible in a wide range of biological media with control of polycrystalinity and nanogeometry, pH sensitivity and salt tolerance has been a challenging requirements. The role of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (3-APTMS) and organic reducing reagents for real time synthesis of amphilic noble metal nanoparticles meeting these requirements are demonstrated justifying the following; (1) 3-APTMS capped noble metal ions are converted into respective metal nanoparticles in the presence of one of organic reducing agents i.e., cyclohexanone, tetrahydrofuran hydroperoxide (THF-HPO), formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, t-buty dimethyl keotone, 3-Glycidoxy-propyltrimethoxysilane (3-GPTMS); (2) 3-APTMS acts as micelle, promotes the interaction of metal ions with organic reducing agent, precisely controls the size of metal nanoparticles, pH sensititvity and salt tolerance and also provides a suitable medium for nanoparticles suspension, (3) the use of suitable organic reagent precisely controls the polarity of as made noble metal nanoparticles allowing specific biological interactions, and (4) 3-APTMS significantly increases the stability and controls the pH sensitivity and salt tolerance of metal nanoparticles. The as synthesized nanomaterials show potential viability in biomedical applications from many angles i.e. (a) as potential bioelectrocatalyst, (b) selective interaction with active proteins and cellular components, and (c) peroxidase mimetic.

Computed tomography (CT) is an important tool in clinical diagnostic imaging enabling three-dimensional anatomic imaging at high spatial resolution with short scan times. However, X-ray attenuation differences in physiological fluids and soft tissues are relatively small, requiring the use of contrast agents to achieve sufficient imaging contrast. Recent advances in energy-sensitive X-ray detectors have made spectral (color) CT commercially feasible by unmixing the energy-dependent attenuation profile of different materials and will potentially enable molecular imaging in CT. In order to leverage these capabilities for diagnostic imaging, we are developing a spectral library of nanoparticle contrast agents with K-shell absorption edges spaced at least 10 keV apart. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the ability of spectral CT to simultaneously detect up to three different contrast agents and unmixed their signals to create color images. Gadolinium oxide (Gd), hafnium oxide (Hf) and gold (Au) were chosen due to exhibiting K-edges spaced 10-20 keV apart. Core-shell nanoparticles of each composition were synthesized by various methods to have a core diameter of 15-20 nm and were coated with a silica shell at least 2-4 nm in thickness to create a common platform for surface functionalization. The contrast agents were imaged in a soft tissue equivalent phantom using source-side method for spectral CT imaging. The source-side approach utilized monochromatic synchrotron radiation at the Argonne National Laboratory which, while not clinically applicable, served as a gold standard due to providing the highest spectral resolution. The nanoparticles designed for this study have broad applications in biomedical imaging due to their modular assembly, potential for enabling multi-modal detection, and surface functionalization with biomolecules (e.g., antibodies, peptides or enzymes) for active targeting.