Cerenkov luminescence imaging and Cerenkov photodynamic therapy have been developed in recent years to exploit the Cerenkov radiation (CR) generated by radioisotopes, frequently used in Nuclear Medicine, to diagnose and fight cancer lesions. For in vivo detection, the endpoint energy of the radioisotope and, thus, the total number of the emitted Cerenkov photons, represents a very important variable and explains why, for example, 68Ga is better than 18F. However, it was also found that the scintillation process is an important mechanism for light production. Nanotechnology represents the most important field, providing nanosctructures which are able to shift the UV-blue emission into a more suitable wavelength, with reduced absorption, which is useful especially for in vivo imaging and therapy applications. Nanoparticles can be made, loaded or linked to fluorescent dyes to modify the optical properties of CR radiation. They also represent a useful platform for therapeutic agents, such as photosensitizer drugs for the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Generally, NPs can be spaced by CR sources; however, for in vivo imaging applications, NPs bound to or incorporating radioisotopes are the most interesting nanocomplexes thanks to their high degree of mutual colocalization and the reduced problem of false uptake detection. Moreover, the distance between the NPs and CR source is crucial for energy conversion. Here, we review the principal NPs proposed in the literature, discussing their properties and the main results obtained by the proponent experimental groups.
#1Nian Liu(TUM: Technische Universität München)H-Index: 5
#2Junpeng Shi(CAS: Chinese Academy of Sciences)H-Index: 19
Last. Xiaolian Sun(CPU: China Pharmaceutical University)H-Index: 37
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Persistent luminescence nanoparticles (PLNPs) with rechargeable near-infrared afterglow properties attract much attention for tumor diagnosis in living animals since they can avoid tissue autofluorescence and greatly improve the signal-to-background ratio. Using UV, visible light, or X-ray as excitation sources to power up persistent luminescence (PL) faces the challenges such as limited tissue penetration, inefficient charging capability, or tissue damage caused by irradiation. Here, it is prov...
#1Adam Brown(OHSU: Oregon Health & Science University)H-Index: 1
3021 Objectives: In the United States, Lutetium-177 is being used to treat patient’s with gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors with the FDA approved radiopharmaceutical Lutathera, which is manufactured by Advanced Accelerator Applications. In addition, Radiomedix, is manufacturing Lutetium-177-PSMA to treat patients with metastatic prostate cancer as part of a phase III clinical trial which is run by Endocyte. Each company uses a different process to manufacture the Lutetium, one of wh...
#1F. Romano(UNIBO: University of Bologna)H-Index: 99
Last. Paola Ceroni(UNIBO: University of Bologna)H-Index: 53
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Luminescent probes based on silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) have many advantages for bioimaging compared to more conventional quantum dots: abundancy of silicon combined with its biocompatibility; tunability of the emission color of SiNCs in the red and NIR spectral region to gain deeper tissue penetration; long emission lifetimes of SiNCs (hundreds of mus) enabling time-gated acquisitions to avoid background noise caused by tissue autofluorescence and scattered excitation light. Here we report a n...
Last. Samuel Achilefu(WashU: Washington University in St. Louis)H-Index: 73
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Rapid liver and spleen opsonization of systemically administered nanoparticles (NPs) for in vivo applications remains the Achilles’ heel of nanomedicine, allowing only a small fraction of the mater...
#1Michele M. Kim(UPenn: University of Pennsylvania)H-Index: 15
#2Arash Darafsheh(WashU: Washington University in St. Louis)H-Index: 18
Effective treatment delivery in photodynamic therapy (PDT) requires coordination of the light source, the photosensitizer, and the delivery device appropriate to the target tissue. Lasers, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and lamps are the main types of light sources utilized for PDT applications. The choice of light source depends on the target location, photosensitizer used, and light dose to be delivered. Geometry of minimally accessible areas also plays a role in deciding light applicator type....
The detection of the Cerenkov radiation (CR) is an emerging preclinical imaging technique which allows monitoring the in vivo distribution of radionuclides. Among its possible advantages, the most interesting is the simplicity and cost of the required instrumentation compared, e.g., to that required for PET scans. On the other hand, one of its main drawbacks is related to the fact that CR, presenting the most intense component in the UV-vis region, has a very low penetration in biological tissue...
#2Zijian Zhou(NIH: National Institutes of Health)H-Index: 43
Last. Hongmin Chen(Ha Tai: Xiamen University)H-Index: 30
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Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has shown great effectiveness in oncotherapy but has not been implemented in broad clinical applications because the limited penetration depth of the light used has been unable to reach deep-seated tumors. However, X-rays have been widely used in the clinical field for imaging and radiation therapy due to their excellent tissue penetration depth. Recently, X-rays have been established as an ideal excitation source for PDT, which holds great promise for breaking the dep...
#2Dalong Ni(UW: University of Wisconsin-Madison)H-Index: 34
Last. Weibo Cai(UW: University of Wisconsin-Madison)H-Index: 91
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: Radio-nanomedicine, or the use of radiolabeled nanoparticles in nuclear medicine, has attracted much attention in the last few decades. Since the discovery of Cerenkov radiation and its employment in Cerenkov luminescence imaging, the combination of nanomaterials and Cerenkov radiation emitters has been revolutionizing the way nanomaterials are perceived in the field: from simple inert carriers of radioactivity to activatable nanomaterials for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Here...
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate high resolution optical luminescence sensing, referred to as Cherenkov excited luminescence scanning imaging (CELSI), could be achieved during a standard dynamic treatment plan for a whole breast radiotherapy geometry. METHODS: The treatment plan beams induce Cherenkov light within tissue, and this excitation projects through the beam trajectory across the medium, inducing luminescence where there can be molecular reporter. Broad beams genera...
#1Shalinee Kavadiya(WashU: Washington University in St. Louis)H-Index: 12
#2Pratim Biswas(WashU: Washington University in St. Louis)H-Index: 83
: The use of Cerenkov radiation to activate nanoparticles in situ was recently shown to control cancerous tumor growth. Although the methodology has been demonstrated to work, to better understand the mechanistic steps, we developed a mathematic model that integrates Cerenkov physics, light interaction with matter, and photocatalytic reaction engineering. Methods: The model describes a detailed pathway for localized reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation from the Cerenkov radiation-assisted ph...
Abstract Reporter gene imaging can accelerate development timelines for gene and viral therapies by facilitating rapid and noninvasive in vivo studies to determine the biodistribution, magnitude and durability of viral gene expression and/or virus infection. Functional molecular imaging systems used for this purpose can be divided broadly into deep-tissue and optical modalities. Deep-tissue modalities, which can be used in animals of any size as well as in human subjects, encompass single photon...
In this short review the potential use of Cerenkov radiation and radioluminescence as internal sources for Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is discussed. PDT has been developed more than 100 years ago and is based on the induced photo conversion of a drug called photo sensitizer (PS) that trigger the production of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to the killing of the cells. In order to overcome the problem of light penetration in the tissues, different solutions were proposed in the pa...