Gold nanoparticles for non-invasive in vivo cell tracking with CT imaging

Rinat Meir

Gold nanoparticles for non-invasive in vivo cell tracking with CT imaging

Rinat Meir

Bar-Ilan University, Israel

: J Nanomater Mol Nanotechnol

Abstract

Cell-based therapy is the transplantation of living cells for the treatment of diseases and injuries. Such therapy offers a promising solution for the treatment of various pathologies that conventional medicine cannot cure effectively, thus encouraging future medical breakthroughs. For instance, cancer-fighting T-cells may be injected in the course of cancer immunotherapy and stem cells may treat neurodegenerative diseases, heart disease, muscular dystrophy and diabetes. A major obstacle in the advancement and implementation of cell therapy is the challenge of non-invasively tracking transplanted cells in the body. In vivo cell tracking could elucidate essential knowledge regarding mechanisms underlying the success or failure of therapy. An optimal solution for the challenge of cell tracking does not yet exist hence the need for an accurate imaging technique. We developed a novel methodology for longitudinal and quantitative in vivo cell tracking, based on the combination of CT as an imaging modality and gold nanoparticles as labeling agents. We were able to show that uniting the superior visualization abilities of classical CT with state-of-the-art nanotechnology is the key for high-resolution cell tracking. In the future, this technology has the potential to be applied clinically and to serve as an early warning system for patients after cell transplantation.