Pharmaceuticals (Oct 2023)

Heavy Metal-Based Nanoparticles as High-Performance X-ray Computed Tomography Contrast Agents

  • Mohammad Yaseen Ahmad,
  • Shuwen Liu,
  • Tirusew Tegafaw,
  • Abdullah Khamis Ali Al Saidi,
  • Dejun Zhao,
  • Ying Liu,
  • Sung-Wook Nam,
  • Yongmin Chang,
  • Gang Ho Lee

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16101463
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 10
p. 1463

Abstract

Read online

X-ray computed tomography (CT) contrast agents offer extremely valuable tools and techniques in diagnostics via contrast enhancements. Heavy metal-based nanoparticles (NPs) can provide high contrast in CT images due to the high density of heavy metal atoms with high X-ray attenuation coefficients that exceed that of iodine (I), which is currently used in hydrophilic organic CT contrast agents. Nontoxicity and colloidal stability are vital characteristics in designing heavy metal-based NPs as CT contrast agents. In addition, a small particle size is desirable for in vivo renal excretion. In vitro phantom imaging studies have been performed to obtain X-ray attenuation efficiency, which is a critical parameter for CT contrast agents, and the imaging performance of CT contrast agents has been demonstrated via in vivo experiments. In this review, we focus on the in vitro and in vivo studies of various heavy metal-based NPs in pure metallic or chemical forms, including Au, Pt, Pd, Ag, Ce, Gd, Dy, Ho, Yb, Ta, W, and Bi, and provide an outlook on their use as high-performance CT contrast agents.

Keywords