Frontiers in Oncology (Aug 2021)

Facile Synthesis of Holmium-Based Nanoparticles as a CT and MRI Dual-Modal Imaging for Cancer Diagnosis

  • Tianqi Zhang,
  • Mo Deng,
  • Lei Zhang,
  • Zerun Liu,
  • Yang Liu,
  • Shuyan Song,
  • Tingting Gong,
  • Qinghai Yuan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2021.741383
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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The rapid development of medical imaging has boosted the abilities of modern medicine. As single modality imaging limits complex cancer diagnostics, dual-modal imaging has come into the spotlight in clinical settings. The rare earth element Holmium (Ho) has intrinsic paramagnetism and great X-ray attenuation due to its high atomic number. These features endow Ho with good potential to be a nanoprobe in combined x-ray computed tomography (CT) and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Herein, we present a facile strategy for preparing HoF3 nanoparticles (HoF3 NPs) with modification by PEG 4000. The functional PEG-HoF3 NPs have good water solubility, low cytotoxicity, and biocompatibility as a dual-modal contrast agent. Currently, there is limited systematic and intensive investigation of Ho-based nanomaterials for dual-modal imaging. Our PEG-HoF3 NPs provide a new direction to realize in vitro and vivo CT/MRI imaging, as well as validation of Ho-based nanomaterials will verify their potential for biomedical applications.

Keywords