Size effect of Au/PAMAM contrast agent on CT imaging of reticuloendothelial system and tumor tissue

Nanoscale Research Letters, Sep 2016

Polyamidoamine (PAMAM)-entrapped Au nanoparticles were synthesized with distinct sizes to figure out the size effect of Au-based contrast agent on CT imaging of passively targeted tissues. Au/PAMAM nanoparticles were first synthesized with narrow distribution of particles size of 22.2 ± 3.1, 54.2 ± 3.7, and 104.9 ± 4.7 nm in diameters. Size effect leads no significant difference on X-ray attenuation when Au/PAMAM was ≤0.05 mol/L. For CT imaging of a tumor model, small Au/PAMAM were more easily internalized via endocytosis in the liver, leading to more obviously enhanced contrast. Similarly, contrast agents with small sizes were more effective in tumor imaging because of the enhanced permeability and retention effect. Overall, the particle size of Au/PAMAM heavily affected the efficiency of CT enhancement in imaging RES and tumors.

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Wei Wang, Jian Li, Ransheng Liu, Aixu Zhang, Zhiyong Yuan. Size effect of Au/PAMAM contrast agent on CT imaging of reticuloendothelial system and tumor tissue, Nanoscale Research Letters, 2016, 429, DOI: 10.1186/s11671-016-1650-z