Speaker: Jesse Jokerst
Title: Engineering Contrast Agents for Ultrasound Molecular Imaging
Abstract: Molecular imaging is a powerful tool to study intact living systems and processes in vivo. Ultrasound in particular is well suited for studying cells and proteins because of its deep penetration through tissue and high spatial and temporal resolution. Unfortunately, the micrometer size of existing contrast agents limits ultrasound to vascular targets. In this lecture, I will present two case studies that illustrate the power of ultrasound imaging with nanometer sized contrast agents. In the first, spherical silica nanoparticles were tuned for real-time implantation guidance of stem cells in cardiac regenerative medicine. In the second, gold nanorods were deployed for ovarian cancer imaging. In both examples, I will detail the synthesis and characterization of the materials, their role in medicine, and lingering questions to be addressed in future studies.