High-Performance Hybrid Bismuth–Carbon Nanotube Based Contrast Agent for X‑ray CT Imaging

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been used for a plethora of biomedical applications, including their use as delivery vehicles for drugs, imaging agents, proteins, DNA, and other materials. Here, we describe the synthesis and characterization of a new CNT-based contrast agent (CA) for X-ray computed tom...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ACS applied materials & interfaces 2017-02, Vol.9 (7), p.5709-5716
Main Authors: Hernández-Rivera, Mayra, Kumar, Ish, Cho, Stephen Y, Cheong, Benjamin Y, Pulikkathara, Merlyn X, Moghaddam, Sakineh E, Whitmire, Kenton H, Wilson, Lon J
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been used for a plethora of biomedical applications, including their use as delivery vehicles for drugs, imaging agents, proteins, DNA, and other materials. Here, we describe the synthesis and characterization of a new CNT-based contrast agent (CA) for X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging. The CA is a hybrid material derived from ultrashort single-walled carbon nanotubes (20–80 nm long, US-tubes) and Bi­(III) oxo-salicylate clusters with four Bi­(III) ions per cluster (Bi4C). The element bismuth was chosen over iodine, which is the conventional element used for CT CAs in the clinic today due to its high X-ray attenuation capability and its low toxicity, which makes bismuth a more-promising element for new CT CA design. The new CA contains 20% by weight bismuth with no detectable release of bismuth after a 48 h challenge by various biological media at 37 °C, demonstrating the presence of a strong interaction between the two components of the hybrid material. The performance of the new Bi4C@US-tubes solid material as a CT CA has been assessed using a clinical scanner and found to possess an X-ray attenuation ability of >2000 Hounsfield units (HU).
ISSN:1944-8244
1944-8252
DOI:10.1021/acsami.6b12768