Cutting‐Edge Nanomaterials for Advanced Multimodal Bioimaging Applications

Abstract

The desire for high sensitivity, resolution, low toxicity, and fast clearance contrast agents has driven the research for new nanomaterial systems. The drawbacks of traditional molecular probes limit their bioimaging ability, hence the exploration of emerging nanomaterials for multimodal bioimaging continues with rational designs. The key for realizing effective multimodal bioimaging is harnessing the physical and chemical properties of the nanomaterials. Although some nanomaterials possess multimodality intrinsically, those imaging modes may not be sufficient to meet the increasing demands of various applications. Therefore, the fabrication of novel composite structures by integrating various nanomaterials or molecules may overcome the challenging issues in multimodal bioimaging. An overview and considerations for multimodal bioimaging and the requirements regarding the nanomaterials are presented. The recently emerged nanomaterials and their composite structures for multimodal bioimaging are highlighted, including the recently emerging 2D materials. The traditional nanomaterials also show breakthroughs in terms of novel structures and morphologies, which would affect the contrast ability, entrance, and clearance from the in vivo models. Finally, some suggestions for toxicity studies of nanomaterials and new strategies are presented for realizing the advance of multimodal bioimaging.

Nanomaterials Discovery and Design through Machine Learning

“…This frontier is continuing to expand into many other fields, such as quantum physics, computational chemistry, and basic biomedical research . Nanomaterials, possessing many unique physicochemical properties as compared with their bulk counterparts, have shown promising applications in energy conversion and storage, water remediation, medical treatment, data storage and information processing, etc . Machine learning is also revolutionizing nanomaterials research and applications in recent years.…”

“…[6][7][8][9] Nanomaterials, possessing many unique physicochemical properties as compared with their bulk counterparts, have shown promising applications in energy conversion and storage, water remediation, medical treatment, data storage and information processing, etc. [10][11][12][13][14][15] Machine learning is also revolutionizing nanomaterials research and applications in recent years.…”

In Situ Synthesis of Fluorescent Mesoporous Silica–Carbon Dot Nanohybrids Featuring Folate Receptor-Overexpressing Cancer Cell Targeting and Drug Delivery

“…Among various nanomaterial-based DDSs, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have been well demonstrated as excellent carriers for intracellular drug delivery owing to their unique properties, including mesoporous structure, large specific surface area, and pore volume, as well as high biochemical and physicochemical stability, facile surface functionalization, and excellent biocompatibility in particular [19][20][21][22]. To further improve their therapeutic efficacy, endowing the DDSs with diagnostic and targeting capabilities has recently been an important issue [23][24][25][26]. On the one hand, optical imaging has numerous advantages (e.g., noninvasiveness, high contrast, high sensitivity, and controllable targeting) in comparison with other traditional imaging techniques [27][28][29][30].…”

Anti-Biofilm Property of Bioactive Upconversion Nanocomposites Containing Chlorin e6 against Periodontal Pathogens

“…Second, the NIR excitation light used for up-conversion luminescence is located in the optical imaging window of the biological tissue, and has a deep tissue penetration. Red light can penetrate inside the tissue for 0.5 cm, while 980 nm light can penetrate more than 1 cm [16]. Third, some other advantages should be mentioned, such as narrow emission band, high color purity and stability, low toxicity and no photobleaching [17,18].…”