Skip to main content

Novel Nano diamond based dye to improve MRI

Scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a novel nanodiamond-based contrast agent -- a chemical "dye" used to enhance the visibility of internal body structures in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) -- that improves visualisation of liver cancer tumours. Better and more sensitive imaging contributes towards detecting liver cancer and is crucial for planning for treatment.
MRI is a medical imaging technique commonly used for cancer diagnosis and to track the progress of patients after treatment. Currently, there are two modes of MRI imaging, T1-weighted and T2-weighted imaging, and patients are often given contrast agents to improve imaging quality. However, each imaging mode requires a specific class of contrast agent which cannot be used together. This poses a greater challenge in the diagnosis of liver cancer, where T2-weighted imaging is still not considered reliable, and both T1- and T2-weighted imaging can be confounded by tumour vascularity.
A research team led by Assistant Professor Edward Chow, Principal Investigator from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at NUS and Department of Pharmacology at NUS Yong Loo Lin of Medicine, has developed a dual-mode contrast agent which enables clearer and more accurate images of tumours to be obtained in both T1- and T2-weighted MRI scans, and with lower dosages of contrast agent.
Better tumour imaging using nanodiamond-based dual-mode contrast agent
The novel dual-mode contrast agent, which was developed using nanodiamonds in combination with a manganese base, provides greater imaging contrast than existing clinical agents which are used to improve quality of MRIs. The team also found that liver tumours that are unable to be visualised without contrast agents become readily visible even at low dosages of the novel compound.
Contrast agents work by altering the magnetic properties of nearby water molecules, which enhances the quality of MR images. Nanodiamonds, which are carbon-based particles of two to eight nanometres in diameter, have unique chemical properties that allow them to attract water molecules. This enables them to promote proton exchange between water molecules and paramagnetic ions (i.e. contrast agents) that accumulate in tissues. As a result, T1 and T2 relaxation is enhanced, giving better quality images. This is unlike existing nanotechnology-based approaches, where nanomaterials are used to improve delivery of paramagnetic ions to specific tumour sites.
"Our experiments suggest that our dual-mode contrast agent holds great promise in improving imaging for liver cancer. We are hopeful that this advancement in nanomedicine will lead to safer and more accurate diagnosis of liver cancer. Moving forward, we plan to conduct further pre-clinical safety studies for our contrast agents, with the end goal being clinical implementation. We are also looking into using our contrast agents to improve imaging for glioma and ovarian cancer," said Asst Prof Chow.
The study was conducted in collaboration with the NUS Comparative Medicine Imaging Facility and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Singapore Bioimaging Consortium. The findings of the study were published in the scientific journal Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine in April 2017.
Source
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nanoimprinting accelerating the fabrication of nano-optical devices

Combining speed with incredible precision, a team of researchers has developed a way to print a nanoscale imaging probe onto the tip of a glass fiber as thin as a human hair, accelerating the production of the promising new device from several per month to several per day. The high-throughput fabrication technique opens the door for the widespread adoption of this and other nano-optical structures, which squeeze and manipulate light in ways that are unachievable by conventional optics. Nano-optics have the potential to be used for imaging, sensing, and spectroscopy, and could help scientists improve solar cells, design better drugs, and make faster semiconductors. A big obstacle to the technology's commercial use, however, is its time-consuming production process. The new fabrication method, called fiber nanoimprinting, could unplug this bottleneck. It was developed by scientists at the Molecular Foundry, located at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley Nat
Post a Comment
Read more

Hybrid graphene and CNT anode battery

Rice University scientists have created a rechargeable lithium metal battery with three times the capacity of commercial lithium-ion batteries by resolving something that has long stumped researchers: the dendrite problem. The Rice battery stores lithium in a unique anode, a seamless hybrid of graphene and carbon nanotubes. The material first created at Rice in 2012 is essentially a three-dimensional carbon surface that provides abundant area for lithium to inhabit. The anode itself approaches the theoretical maximum for storage of lithium metal while resisting the formation of damaging dendrites or "mossy" deposits. Dendrites have bedeviled attempts to replace lithium-ion with advanced lithium metal batteries that last longer and charge faster. Dendrites are lithium deposits that grow into the battery's electrolyte. If they bridge the anode and cathode and create a short circuit, the battery may fail, catch fire or even explode. Rice researchers led by chemist
Post a Comment
Read more

2D FET from polymorphic material molbdenum telluride

In simple terms, FETs can be thought as high-speed switches, composed of two metal electrodes and a semiconducting channel in between. Electrons (or holes) move from the source electrode to the drain electrode, flowing through the channel. While 3D FETs have been scaled down to nanoscale dimensions successfully, their physical limitations are starting to emerge. Short semiconductor channel lengths lead to a decrease in performance: some electrons (or holes) are able to flow between the electrodes even when they should not, causing heat and efficiency reduction. To overcome this performance degradation, transistor channels have to be made with nanometer-scale thin materials. However, even thin 3D materials are not good enough, as unpaired electrons, part of the so-called "dangling bonds" at the surface interfere with the flowing electrons, leading to scattering. Passing from thin 3D FETs to 2D FETs can overcome these problems and bring in new attractive properties. &quo
Post a Comment
Read more