TABLE 1

Summary of Select Nanoparticle Applications in Nuclear Cardiovascular Imaging

Imaging target	Particle type	Mean diameter	Targeting strategy	Labeling agent	Imaging modality	Reference
Ischemic myocardium	Polymeric micelles	7–20 nm	Passive	¹¹¹In	γ-camera	5
	Chitosan nanoparticles	100–150 nm	Passive	^99mTc	ARG	6
Ischemic brain	Liposomes	210 nm	Passive	¹⁸F	PET	7
Angiogenesis	Dendrimers	12 nm (prelabeling)	RGD peptide (binds α_vβ₃)	⁷⁶Br	PET/CT	9
	Comblike polymeric nanoparticles	22 nm	C-type atrial natriuretic factor	⁶⁴Cu	PET/CT	14
	Gold nanoparticles	22 nm	RGD peptide (binds α_vβ₃)	^99mTc, gold	SPECT/CT	10
	Perfluorocarbon emulsion	270 nm	Nonpeptide α_vβ₃ antagonist	^99mTc, Gd³⁺, fluorophores	SPECT/CT/MR	11
	Single-walled carbon nanotubes	1–5 × 100–300 nm	RGD peptide (binds α_vβ₃)	⁶⁴Cu, carbon nanotubes	PET, Raman spectroscopy (ex vivo)	12
	Polymer-coated UCNPs (NaGdF₄:Yb³⁺/Er³⁺)	32 nm	RGD peptide (binds α_vβ₃)	¹²⁴I, UCNP	PET/MR, upconversion luminescence (ex vivo)	13
Blood pool	Dendrimers	12 nm	Passive	^99mTc, TIBA	SPECT/CT	15
	Cross-linked dextran shells/iron oxide cores	20 nm (base particle)	Passive	¹⁸F, iron oxide, fluorophores	PET/CT/MR, fluorescence (ex vivo)	16
	Core-shell star copolymers	25–70 nm	Passive	⁶⁴Cu	PET/CT	17
Atheromata	LDL	20 nm	Apolipoproteins (bind LDL receptor)	¹²³I	γ-camera	19
	Reconstituted HDL particles with QD/iron oxide cores	8–12 nm	Apolipoproteins (bind HDL receptor)	⁵⁹Fe, CdSE/CdS/ZnS QDs, iron oxide	MR, fluorescence, γ-counter (ex vivo)	22
Atheromata (intraplaque inflammation)	Dendrimers	NA	LyP-1 peptide (binds macrophages)	⁶⁴Cu, fluorophores	PET/CT, fluorescence (ex vivo)	24
	Comblike polymer nanoparticles	15 nm	DAPTA (modified peptide, binds chemokine receptor-5)	⁶⁴Cu	PET/CT	25
	Dextran nanoparticles	13 nm	Passive	⁸⁹Zr, fluorophores	PET/MR, ARG, fluorescence (ex vivo)	26
Cardiac allografts (graft inflammation)	Cross-linked dextran shells/iron oxide cores	20 nm	Passive	⁶⁴Cu, iron oxide, fluorophores	PET/CT, ARG, fluorescence (ex vivo)	29
Aortic aneurysms (mural inflammation)	Cross-linked dextran shells/iron oxide cores	20 nm (base particle)	Passive	¹⁸F, iron oxide, fluorophores	PET/CT, ARG, fluorescence (ex vivo)	30

UCNP = upconversion nanophosphor; TIBA = 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid; LDL = low-density lipoprotein; HDL = high-density lipoprotein; QD = quantum dot; NA = not available; ARG = autoradiography.