%0 Journal Article
%T Quantum dot loaded immunomicelles for tumor imaging
%A Aristarchos Papagiannaros
%A Jaydev Upponi
%A William Hartner
%A Dmitriy Mongayt
%A Tatyana Levchenko
%A Vladimir Torchilin
%J BMC Medical Imaging
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2342-10-22
%X Para-nitrophenol-containing (5%) PEG-PE quantum dot micelles were produced by the thin layer method. Following hydration, 2C5 antibody was attached to the PEG-PE micelles and the QD-micelles were purified using dialysis. 4T1 breast tumors were inoculated subcutaneously in the flank of the animals. A lung pseudometastatic B16F10 melanoma model was developed using tail vein injection. The contrast agents were injected via the tail vein and mice were depilated, anesthetized and imaged on a Kodak Image Station. Images were taken at one, two, and four hours and analyzed using a methodology that produces normalized signal-to-noise data. This allowed for the comparison between different subjects and time points. For the pseudometastatic model, lungs were removed and imaged ex vivo at one and twenty four hours.The contrast agent signal intensity at the tumor was double that of the passively targeted QD-micelles with equally fast and sharply contrasted images. With the side views of the animals only tumor is visible, while in the dorsal view internal organs including liver and kidney are visible. Ex vivo results demonstrated that the agent detects melanoma nodes in a lung pseudometastatic model after a 24 hours wash-out period, while at one hour, only a uniform signal is detected.The targeted agent produces ultrabright tumor images and double the fluorescence intensity, as rapidly and at the same low dose as the passively targeted agents. It represents a development that may potentially serve to enhance early detection for metastases.Near infrared (NIR) imaging is a particularly promising method of imaging since it is not invasive, requires relatively simple and easy-to-use equipment, and can take place in real time. The detection limit can be as low as in other imaging modalities, and it is much less hazardous compared to radionuclide or magnetic resonance imaging as it does not make use of radioisotopes that have special handling and storage requirements, both for their us
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2342/10/22