Annie M. Tang1,2, Jeyarama S. Ananta3,
Hong Zhao1, Brandon T. Cisneros3, Edmund Y. Lam4,
Stephen T. Wong1, Lon J. Wilson3, Kelvin K. Wong1,5
1The Center for Bioengineering and
Informatics and Department of Radiology, The Methodist Hospital Research
Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, Houston, TX, United States; 2Department
of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong
Kong, Hong Kong; 3Department of Chemistry, Rice University,
Houston, TX, United States; 4Department of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong,, Hong Kong,
Hong Kong; 5Texas Children Small Animal Imaging Facility, Texas
Children Hospital, Houston, TX, United States
Single-walled
carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have recently been proposed as vehicles for
efficient delivery of biomolecules such as drugs and genes into targeting
sites for therapeutic purposes. In order to monitor the delivery location and
efficiency, visualization of these SWCNTs is crucial. In this study, we investigate the
intracellular uptake of gadonolimum-loaded ultra-short carbon nanotubes
(gadonanotubes) with MRI and demonstrated single cell visualization in a
sparsely distributed cell agarose phantom.
Keywords