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PEGylated Tantalum Nanoparticles: A Metallic Photoacoustic Contrast Agent for Multiwavelength Imaging of Tumors
Author(s) -
Miao Zhaohua,
Liu Peiying,
Wang Yichuan,
Li Kai,
Huang Doudou,
Yang Huanjie,
Zhao Qingliang,
Zha Zhengbao,
Zhen Liang,
Xu ChengYan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201903596
Subject(s) - tantalum , biocompatibility , materials science , nanoparticle , nanotechnology , polyethylene glycol , surface modification , absorbance , chemical engineering , optics , metallurgy , engineering , physics
Elemental tantalum is a well‐known biomedical metal in clinics due to its extremely high biocompatibility, which is superior to that of other biomedical metallic materials. Hence, it is of significance to expand the scope of biomedical applications of tantalum. Herein, it is reported that tantalum nanoparticles (Ta NPs), upon surface modification with polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules via a silane‐coupling approach, are employed as a metallic photoacoustic (PA) contrast agent for multiwavelength imaging of tumors. By virtue of the broad optical absorbance from the visible to near‐infrared region and high photothermal conversion efficiency (27.9%), PEGylated Ta NPs depict high multiwavelength contrast capability for enhancing PA imaging to satisfy the various demands (penetration depth, background noise, etc.) of clinical diagnosis as needed. Particularly, the PA intensity of the tumor region postinjection is greatly increased by 4.87, 7.47, and 6.87‐fold than that of preinjection under 680, 808, and 970 nm laser irradiation, respectively. In addition, Ta NPs with negligible cytotoxicity are capable of eliminating undesirable reactive oxygen species, ensuring the safety for biomedical applications. This work introduces a silane‐coupling strategy for the surface engineering of Ta NPs, and highlights the potential of Ta NPs as a biocompatible metallic contrast agent for multiwavelength photoacoustic image.