AuroVist is a new X-ray contrast agent for research and animal use, based on Nanoprobes' gold nanoparticle technology. AuroVist may be used in MicroCT or other research applications* forimaging blood vessels, other organs, tumors or other anatomical features; it is also the only reagent to be used forin vivo vascular casting.
* Not intended or approved for clinical or diagnostic use.
Amazing video of AuroVist™ in action--
In vivo MicroCT of mouse
after AuroVist™-15 nm injection Note very high contrast in blood and heart, with little accumulation in the liver.
AuroVist™
is a revolutionary tool in vascular imaging-- Get up to 3 times the contrast of iodine,
without the vascular damage!
Images from recent experiments,
right here at the Nanoprobes Labs.
Gold Nanoparticles:
a New X-Ray Contrast Agent
Gold has several advantages over the conventional iodine-based contrast reagents.
Gold achieves better contrast than iodine for both micro-CT and clinical CT applications.
At appropriate beam energies*, gold achieves a contrast up to 3 times greater than iodine per unit mass, and initial blood contrast greater than 1,000 Hounsfeld Units (HU).
Furthermore, gold concentrations up to four times those of iodine can be achieved, providing a total contrast gain of up to ten times or more.
*For micro-CT, beam energy should be just above gold's 12-14-keV L-edge, while for clinical CT it can be tuned to just above gold's 80.7-keV K-edge.
Live mouse, 5 minutes after injection with AuroVist™ X-ray contrast agent.
Unlike iodine, AuroVist has very low viscosity and osmolality, and therefore may be injected and used in small blood vessels without risk of vascular damage.
20 µm blood vessels in live animals have been successfully imaged with microCT, and vascular casts obtained for the first time.
Small orthotopic colon tumors were also detected in vivo using gold nanoparticles and microCT.
Kidney fine structure may be imaged up to an hour or more after injection; concentration in the kidneys can provide contrast values as high as 1,500 HU or more.
AuroVist has demonstrated low acute toxicities, and phamacokinetics have been found to be acceptable.
Live mouse 1 hour after injection with AuroVist™, showing kidney contrast and fine structure (bar = 1 mm).
Features of AuroVist™
Yields enhanced radiotherapy dose. Check out some amazing results...
Longer blood residence time than iodine agents (1.9 nm gold core, ~50,000 Da).
High contrast (>500 HU initial blood contrast, kidneys >1,500 HU).
Clears through kidneys.
Low toxicity (LD50 >1.4 g Au/kg).
Permeates angiogenic endothelium, enabling imaging of tumors.
Concentration >4 times that of standard iodine agents (up to 1.5 g Au/cc).
Up to 10 times the contrast of standard iodine agents(Gold absorbs ~3 times more than an equivalent weight of iodine at 20 and 100 keV and can be ~4 times more concentrated, giving more than 10-fold combined contrast enhancement.
Low osmolality, even at high concentrations
Low viscosity, similar to water; easy to inject, even into small vessels.
Can be imaged using standard microCT.
(upper): Live mouse, 2 minutes after injection showing vascular fine structure; (lower) MicroCT of mouse inferior vena cava (bar = 1mm).
Paying by Purchase Order? Please use our Online Order Form. Custom conjugation is also available, of Nanogold®, FluoroNanogold, undecagold
or colloidal gold to primary antibodies, peptides, small molecules, or other molecules.
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