Targeted Fe-filled carbon nanotube as a multifunctional contrast agent for thermoacoustic and magnetic resonance imaging of tumor in living mice

Single-Walled (Magnetic) Carbon Nanotubes in a Pectin Matrix in the Design of an Allantoin Delivery System

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) outperform other materials due to their high conductivity, large specific surface area, and chemical resistance. They have numerous biomedical applications, including the magnetization of the SWCNT (mSWCNT). The drug loading and release properties of see-through pectin hydrogels doped with SWCNTs and mSWCNTs were evaluated in this study. The active molecule in the hydrogel structure is allantoin, and calcium chloride serves as a cross-linker. In addition to mixing, absorption, and swelling techniques, drug loading into carbon nanotubes was also been studied. To characterize the films, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, surface contact angle measurements, and opacity analysis were carried out. Apart from these, a rheological analysis was also carried out to examine the flow properties of the hydrogels. The study was also expanded to include N-(9-fluorenyl methoxycarbonyl)glycine-coated SWCNTs and mSWCNTs as additives to evaluate the efficiency of the drug-loading approach. Although the CNT additive was used at a 1:1000 weight ratio, it had a significant impact on the hydrogel properties. This effect, which was first observed in the thermal properties, was confirmed in rheological analyses by increasing solution viscosity. Additionally, rheological analysis and drug release profiles show that the type of additive causes a change in the matrix structure. According to TGA findings, even though SWCNTs and mSWCNTs were not coated more than 5%, the coating had a significant effect on drug release control. In addition to all findings, cell viability tests revealed that hydrogels with various additives could be used for visual wound monitoring, hyperthermia treatment, and allantoin release in wound treatment applications.

Recent advances in magnetic carbon nanotubes: synthesis, challenges and highlighted applications

Magnetic carbon nanotubes (MCNTs), consisting of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), have enormous exploration and application potentials due to their superior physical and chemical properties, such as unique magnetism and high enrichment performance. This review concentrates on the rapid advances in the synthesis and application of magnetic carbon nanotubes. Great progress has been made in the preparation of MCNTs by developing methods including chemical vapor deposition, pyrolysis procedure, sol-gel process, template-based synthesis, filling process and hydrothermal/solvothermal method. Various applications of MCNTs as a mediator of the adsorbent in magnetic solid-phase extraction, sensors, antibacterial agents, and imaging system contrast agents, and in drug delivery and catalysis are discussed. In order to overcome the drawbacks of MCNTs, such as sidewall damage, lack of convincing quantitative characterization methods, toxicity and environmental impact, and deficiency of extraction performance, researchers proposed some solutions in recent years. We systematically review the latest advances in MCNTs and discuss the direction of future development.

Comprehensive review on ultrasound-responsive theranostic nanomaterials: mechanisms, structures and medical applications

The field of theranostics has been rapidly growing in recent years and nanotechnology has played a major role in this growth. Nanomaterials can be constructed to respond to a variety of different stimuli which can be internal (enzyme activity, redox potential, pH changes, temperature changes) or external (light, heat, magnetic fields, ultrasound). Theranostic nanomaterials can respond by producing an imaging signal and/or a therapeutic effect, which frequently involves cell death. Since ultrasound (US) is already well established as a clinical imaging modality, it is attractive to combine it with rationally designed nanoparticles for theranostics. The mechanisms of US interactions include cavitation microbubbles (MBs), acoustic droplet vaporization, acoustic radiation force, localized thermal effects, reactive oxygen species generation, sonoluminescence, and sonoporation. These effects can result in the release of encapsulated drugs or genes at the site of interest as well as cell death and considerable image enhancement. The present review discusses US-responsive theranostic nanomaterials under the following categories: MBs, micelles, liposomes (conventional and echogenic), niosomes, nanoemulsions, polymeric nanoparticles, chitosan nanocapsules, dendrimers, hydrogels, nanogels, gold nanoparticles, titania nanostructures, carbon nanostructures, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, fuel-free nano/micromotors.

Nanoparticles as a Tool in Neuro-Oncology Theranostics

The rapid growth of nanotechnology and the development of novel nanomaterials with unique physicochemical characteristics provides potential for the utility of nanomaterials in theranostics, including neuroimaging, for identifying neurodegenerative changes or central nervous system malignancy. Here we present a systematic and thorough review of the current evidence pertaining to the imaging characteristics of various nanomaterials, their associated toxicity profiles, and mechanisms for enhancing tropism in an effort to demonstrate the utility of nanoparticles as an imaging tool in neuro-oncology. Particular attention is given to carbon-based and metal oxide nanoparticles and their theranostic utility in MRI, CT, photoacoustic imaging, PET imaging, fluorescent and NIR fluorescent imaging, and SPECT imaging.

Integrated thermoacoustic and ultrasound imaging based on the combination of a hollow concave transducer array and a linear transducer array

To integrate the high resolution of ultrasound imaging (UI) and the high tissue specificity of thermoacoustic imaging (TAI) and to achieve an easy and precise co-registration of the two different imaging modalities, we present and demonstrate a hybrid thermoacoustic and ultrasound (TA/US) imaging system based on the combination of a novel hollow concave array and a commercial linear array. This TA/US imaging system can provide enhanced imaging of both tissues' mechanical and dielectric properties. We verified the effective imaging performance of the hybrid TA/US system using tissue phantom experiments.In vivoTA/US imaging of the wrist and foot in healthy volunteers was also demonstrated using the hybrid system. This hollow concave array provided enhanced imaging performance for TAI because of its wide angular coverage with an optimal center frequency, showing a large effective imaging field of view (FOV) and improved images with high contrast and superior quality. Compared with stand-alone UI or TAI, the hybrid TA/US imaging presented more complete tissue anatomical structures, like skin, muscles, tendons, blood vessels, and bones for possible human disease diagnosis, although the US image quality using the hybrid system was slightly lower because the distance between the tissue and commercial ultrasound array was not ideal. This study suggests that the hybrid TA/US imaging approach has the potential to become a clinical tool for diagnosis of diseases in the wrist and foot.

Oxygen Functional Groups on MWCNT Surface as Critical Factor Boosting T2 Relaxation Rate of Water Protons: Towards Improved CNT-Based Contrast Agents

PURPOSE

Salicyl (Sal) - among other oxygen functionalities - multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and their nanohybrids are investigated as promising contrast agents (CA) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or drug delivery platforms, due to their unique properties. The preliminary results and the literature reports were the motivation to endow high r2 relaxivities, excellent dispersibility in water, and biocompatibility to superparamagnetic MWCNTs nanohybrids. It was hypothesized that these goals could be achieved by, not described in the literature yet, two-stage oxygen functionalization of MWCNTs.

RESULTS

Two structurally different MWCNT materials differing in diameters (44 and 12 nm) and the iron content (4.7% and 0.5%) are studied toward the functionalization effect on the T2 relaxometric properties. MWCNT oxidation is typically the first step of functionalization resulting in "first generation" oxygen functional groups (OFGs) on the surface. Until now, the impact of OFGs on the relaxivity of MWCNT was not truly recognized, but this study sheds light on this issue. By follow-up functionalization of oxidized MWCNT with 4-azidosalicylic acid through [2+1] cycloaddition of the corresponding nitrene, "second generation" of oxygen functional groups is grafted onto the nanohybrid, ie, Sal functionality.

CONCLUSION

The introduced OFGs are responsible for an almost 30% increase in the relaxivity, which leads to remarkable r2 relaxivity of 951 mM-1s-1 (419 (mg/mL)-1s-1), the unprecedented value reported to date for this class of CAs. Also, the resulting nanohybrids express low cytotoxicity and superb diffusion after subcutaneous injection to a mouse.

A stimulated liquid-gas phase transition nanoprobe dedicated to enhance the microwave thermoacoustic imaging contrast of breast tumors

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging (MTAI), combining the advantages of the high contrast of microwave imaging and the high resolution of ultrasonic imaging, is a potential candidate for breast tumor detection. MTAI probes have been used to extend thermoacoustic imaging to molecular imaging. However, due to the high content of water molecules in tissues, the thermoelastic expansion-based probes used in conventional MTAI are not capable of adequate enhancement. Herein, an MTAI nanoprobe for amplification of thermoacoustic (TA) signals by the stimulated liquid-gas phase transition mechanism has been developed, providing significantly higher signal amplitude than that from the conventional mechanism of thermoelastic expansion. The nanoprobe consists of liquid perfluorohexane (PFH) and tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanoparticles rich in defect electric dipoles. When irradiated with pulsed microwaves, the defect electric dipoles in WS2 were repeatedly polarized by gigahertz. This results in localized transient heating and an acoustic shockwave, which destroys the van der Waals forces between PFH molecules. Ultimately, liquid PFH droplets undergo a liquid-gas phase transition, generating dramatically enhanced TA signals. The practical feasibility was tested in vitro and in a breast tumor animal model. The results show that the proposed nanoprobe can greatly improve the contrast of tumor imaging. It will be a new generation probe for MTAI.

Pulsed Microwave-Pumped Drug-Free Thermoacoustic Therapy by Highly Biocompatible and Safe Metabolic Polyarginine Probes

Serious side effects are plaguing traditional chemotherapy, and the development of drug-free treatment is expected to ease the dilemma. Herein, drug-free polyarginine probes are fabricated from the co-polymerization of arginine monomer and slight amount of rhodamine B monomer, which are efficient for thermoacoustic imaging and therapy with high biocompatibility and safe metabolism. Polyarginine can be strongly pumped upon pulsed microwave irradiation, generating significant thermoacoustic shockwaves, namely thermocavitation, which can in situ destroy mitochondria to initiate programmed cancer cell apoptosis. In vivo explorations demonstrate the high theranostic efficiency for cancer thermoacoustic imaging and cancer inhibition, exhibiting low systemic cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility after systemic administration. Herein, pulsed microwave-pumped biocompatible polyarginine is promising for drug-free precision theranostics without any detectable side effects, and the deep penetration potency of microwave makes it potentially able to treat deep-seated diseases in future biomedicine.

Contrast-enhanced computed tomography combined with Chitosan-Fe3O4 nanoparticles targeting fibroblast growth factor receptor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor in the screening of early esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer is a malignant tumor with a relatively high invasiveness, metastatic potential and worldwide incidence among human cancers. The majority of patients with esophageal cancer are diagnosed in a late tumor stage due to a lack of advanced and sensitive protocols for the diagnosis of patients with early-stage esophageal cancer. In the current study, contrast-enhanced computerized tomography (CECT) combined with Chitosan-Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles targeting fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR; CECT-CNFV) were used to diagnose patients with suspected esophageal cancer. A Chitosan-Fe₃O₄-parceled bispecific antibody targeting FGFR and VEGFR was produced and its affinity to esophageal cancer cells was determined both in vitro and in vivo. A total of 320 patients with suspected esophageal cancer were voluntarily recruited to evaluate the efficacy of CECT-CNFV in the diagnosis of early-stage esophageal cancer. All participants were subjected to CT and CECT-CNFV to detect whether tumors were present in the esophageal area. A Chitosan-Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles contrast agent was orally administered at 20 min prior to CT and CECT-CNFV. The results demonstrated that CECT-CNFV improved diagnostic sensitivity and provided a novel protocol for the diagnosis of tumors in patients with suspected gastric cancer at an early-stage. Furthermore, the resolution ratio of images was enhanced by CECT-CNFV, which enabled the visualization of tiny tumor nodules in esophageal tissue. Clinical data demonstrated that CECT-CNFV diagnosed 200 patients with suspected early-stage esophageal cancer and 120 patients as tumor free. In addition, CECT-CNFV exhibited higher signal enhancement of tumor nodules than CT, suggesting a higher accuracy and accumulation of nanoparticle contrast agent within the tumor nodules of esophageal tissue. Notably, the survival rate of patients with esophageal cancer diagnosed at an early-stage by CECT-CNFV was higher than the mean five-year survival rate (P<0.01). In conclusion, CECT-CNFV enhanced the sensitivity and accuracy of CT in the diagnosis of early-stage esophageal cancer. Thus, CECT-CNFV may improve the accuracy of CT in the diagnosis of mural enhancement in patients with esophageal cancer.

Carbon Nano-Allotrope/Magnetic Nanoparticle Hybrid Nanomaterials as T2 Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Applications

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most powerful tool for deep penetration and high-quality 3D imaging of tissues with anatomical details. However, the sensitivity of the MRI technique is not as good as that of the radioactive or optical imaging methods. Carbon-based nanomaterials have attracted significant attention in biomaterial research in recent decades due to their unique physical properties, versatile functionalization chemistry, as well as excellent biological compatibility. Researchers have employed various carbon nano-allotropes to develop hybrid MRI contrast agents for improved sensitivity. This review summarizes the new research progresses in carbon-based hybrid MRI contrast agents, especially those reported in the past five years. The review will only focus on T2-weighted MRI agents and will be categorized by the different carbon allotrope types and magnetic components. Considering the strong trend in recent bio-nanotechnology research towards multifunctional diagnosis and therapy, carbon-based MRI contrast agents integrated with other imaging modalities or therapeutic functions are also covered.

An analytical study of photoacoustic and thermoacoustic generation efficiency towards contrast agent and film design optimization

Photoacoustic (PA) and thermoacoustic (TA) effects have been explored in many applications, such as bio-imaging, laser-induced ultrasound generator, and sensitive electromagnetic (EM) wave film sensor. In this paper, we propose a compact analytical PA/TA generation model to incorporate EM, thermal and mechanical parameters, etc. From the derived analytical model, both intuitive predictions and quantitative simulations are performed. It shows that beyond the EM absorption improvement, there are many other physical parameters that deserve careful consideration when designing contrast agents or film composites, followed by simulation study. Lastly, several sets of experimental results are presented to prove the feasibility of the proposed analytical model. Overall, the proposed compact model could work as a clear guidance and predication for improved PA/TA contrast agents and film generator/sensor designs in the domain area.

Recent advances in carbon based nanosystems for cancer theranostics

This review deals with four different types of carbon allotrope based nanosystems and summarizes the results of recent studies that are likely to have applications in cancer theranostics. We discuss the applications of these nanosystems for cancer imaging, drug delivery, hyperthermia, and PDT/TA/PA.