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Review
. 2022 Jan 25;12(3):393.
doi: 10.3390/nano12030393.

Exogenous Contrast Agents in Photoacoustic Imaging: An In Vivo Review for Tumor Imaging

Afifa Farooq  1 , Shafiya Sabah  1 , Salam Dhou  1   2 , Nour Alsawaftah  1 , Ghaleb Husseini  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Exogenous Contrast Agents in Photoacoustic Imaging: An In Vivo Review for Tumor Imaging

Afifa Farooq et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

The field of cancer theranostics has grown rapidly in the past decade and innovative 'biosmart' theranostic materials are being synthesized and studied to combat the fast growth of cancer metastases. While current state-of-the-art oncology imaging techniques have decreased mortality rates, patients still face a diminished quality of life due to treatment. Therefore, improved diagnostics are needed to define in vivo tumor growths on a molecular level to achieve image-guided therapies and tailored dosage needs. This review summarizes in vivo studies that utilize contrast agents within the field of photoacoustic imaging-a relatively new imaging modality-for tumor detection, with a special focus on imaging and transducer parameters. This paper also details the different types of contrast agents used in this novel diagnostic field, i.e., organic-based, metal/inorganic-based, and dye-based contrast agents. We conclude this review by discussing the challenges and future direction of photoacoustic imaging.

Keywords: exogenous contrast agents; photoacoustic imaging; tumor imaging.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PAI timeline.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Emerging trend in the field of exogenous contrast agents for in vivo literature of tumors using photoacoustic imaging (Data compiled using Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chemical structures of natural sources for CDs’ production.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Synthesis of MNP-PPy shell, a magneto-motive nanoparticle used for magnetic motion and speckle tracking (b) Distinctive displacement motion using magnetic fields created with synthesized magnetic nanoparticles within targeted tissue to eliminate PA background signal from non-ROI tissue [100].
Figure 5
Figure 5
An example of the role contrast agents play in indicating tumor sites, with red representing oxyhemoglobin, blue representing deoxy-hemoglobin, and blue and green representing contrast agents [116].
Figure 6
Figure 6
(a) No. of studies in the last four years. (b) Total number of studies in the last four years based on classification.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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