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. 2012 May 21;20(11):11598-604.
doi: 10.1364/OE.20.011598.

Radioluminescent nanophosphors enable multiplexed small-animal imaging

Colin M Carpenter  1 , Conroy Sun, Guillem Pratx, Hongguang Liu, Zhen Cheng, Lei Xing
Affiliations

Radioluminescent nanophosphors enable multiplexed small-animal imaging

Colin M Carpenter et al. Opt Express. .

Abstract

We demonstrate the ability to image multiple nanoparticle-based contrast agents simultaneously using a nanophosphor platform excited by either radiopharmaceutical or X-ray irradiation. These radioluminescent nanoparticles emit optical light at unique wavelengths depending on their lanthanide dopant, enabling multiplexed imaging. This study demonstrates the separation of two distinct nanophosphor contrast agents in gelatin phantoms with a recovered phosphor separation correlation of -0.98. The ability to distinguish the two nanophosphors and a Cerenkov component is then demonstrated in a small animal phantom. Combined with the high-resolution potential of low-scattering X-ray excitation, this imaging technique may be a promising method to probe molecular processes in living organisms.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(a) Radioluminecent spectrum of the Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Tb3+ particles, which emit primarily in the green. (b) Radioluminecent spectrum of the Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Eu3+ particles, which emit primarily in the red and near-infrared. (c) Transmission electron microscopy image of the RLNPs. (d) Hydrodynamic size distribution of the RLNPs as determined by dynamic light scattering.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(a) Shown are the Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Tb3+ and Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Eu3+ phosphor concentrations with increasing/decreasing concentration (top-to-bottom) of Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Tb3+ / Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Eu3+, respectively. (b) The raw signal detected for each respective nanophosphor. (c) The relative median recovered concentration in each ROI plotted with respect to concentration.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
X-ray Luminescence: (a) Schematic of the locations of each type of RLNP. The inactive particles are indicated with the abbreviation (Ctrl). (b,c) The unmixed signal from the Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Tb and Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Eu particles, respectively. (d) The unmixed multiplexed image with colorbars for the relative concentrations of Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Tb and Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Eu.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Radiopharmaceutical luminescence: (a) Positron emission tomography image of the relevant RLNPs. (b) The unmixed signal from Cerenkov emission. (c,d) Unmixed signal from the Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Tb3+ particles and Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Eu3+particles, respectively. (e) Unmixed multiplexed image with colorbars for the relative contributions of Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Tb3+, Ba0.55Y0.3F2:Eu3+, and Cerenkov emission.
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