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First published online March 16, 2009, 10.2967/jnumed.108.053561
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Journal of Nuclear Medicine Vol. 50 No. 4 493-496
© 2009 by Society of Nuclear Medicine
doi: 10.2967/jnumed.108.053561

Focus on Molecular Imaging

Quantum Dots for In Vivo Small-Animal Imaging

Laurent A. Bentolila1,2, Yuval Ebenstein1 and Shimon Weiss1–3

1 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, California; 2 California NanoSystems Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, California; and 3 Department of Physiology, UCLA, Los Angeles, California

Correspondence: For correspondence or reprints contact: Laurent A. Bentolila, UCLA, 607 Charles E. Young Dr. East, Los Angeles, CA 90095. E-mail: lbento{at}chem.ucla.edu

ABSTRACT

Nanotechnology is poised to transform research, prevention, and treatment of cancer through the development of novel diagnostic imaging methods and targeted therapies. In particular, the use of nanoparticles for imaging has gained considerable momentum in recent years. This review focuses on the growing contribution of quantum dots (QDs) for in vivo imaging in small-animal models. Fluorescent QDs, which are small nanocrystals (1–10 nm) made of inorganic semiconductor materials, possess several unique optical properties best suited for in vivo imaging. Because of quantum confinement effects, the emission color of QDs can be precisely tuned by size from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. QDs are extremely bright and photostable. They are also characterized by a wide absorption band and a narrow emission band, which makes them ideal for multiplexing. Finally, the large surface area of QDs permits the assembly of various contrast agents to design multimodality imaging probes. To date, biocompatible QD conjugates have been used successfully for sentinel lymph node mapping, tumor targeting, tumor angiogenesis imaging, and metastatic cell tracking. Here we consider these novel breakthroughs in light of their potential clinical applications and discuss how QDs might offer a suitable platform to unite disparate imaging modalities and provide information along a continuum of length scales.

Key Words: quantum dots • molecular imaging • optical imaging • PET • nanoparticles • near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging • nanotechnology • cancer • nanomedicine

FOOTNOTES

COPYRIGHT © 2009 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine, Inc.


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