Open AccessGas-generating nanoparticles for contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging
Author(s) -
InCheol Sun,
Stanislav Emelianov
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
nanoscale
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.038
H-Index - 224
eISSN - 2040-3372
pISSN - 2040-3364
DOI - 10.1039/c9nr04471j
Subject(s) - nanoparticle , ultrasound , materials science , azide , microbubbles , colloidal gold , decomposition , nitrogen gas , nanotechnology , photodissociation , laser , nitrogen , biomedical engineering , optics , chemistry , photochemistry , radiology , organic chemistry , medicine , physics
We present gas-generating solid nanoparticles as a new concept of an ultrasound contrast agent. The developed nanoparticles are sufficiently small (less than 100 nm in diameter) to escape vasculature and yet, upon external pulsed laser light activation, release nitrogen gas for enhanced contrast in ultrasound imaging. The gas-generating nanoconstructs combine the photocatalytic function of gold nanoparticles and photolysis of azide compounds. Using ultrasound imaging, we demonstrate the controlled, on-demand generation of nitrogen gas from nanoparticles due to the decomposition of azide groups triggered by pulsed laser irradiation. The resulting gas forms bubbles that cause backscattered ultrasound signals and, therefore, modulate the contrast in ultrasound imaging.