. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Apr 1.

Published in final edited form as: Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2013 Jan 3;23(3):71–79. doi: 10.1016/j.tcm.2012.09.003

Table 1.

Molecular imaging agents in cardiovascular calcification

Cardiovascular calcification	Target	Imaging agent	Imaging modality
Processes associated with early calcification
Endothelial dysfunction	VCAM-1	VINP-28 Microbubbles	Optical imaging^a/MRI US
	ICAM-1	NIRF Microbubbles	Optical imaging US/MRI
	ROS	Microbubbles MPO^b probe oxLDL-targeted nanoparticle	US Optical imaging MRI
Inflammation	Macrophages	Nanoparticles (e.g., CLIO^b)	Optical Imaging/MRI/PET
	MMP	MMPSense	Optical imaging
	Cathepsin	ProSense	Optical imaging
Progression of calcification
Inflammation	Macrophages	Nanoparticles (e.g., CLIO^b)	Optical imaging/MRI/PET
Apoptosis	Annexin V	Nanoparticle	Optical imaging/MRI
Microcalcification	Caspase	18F-FDG	PET
	Hydroxyapatite	Activatable probes OsteoSense 18F-NaF	Optical imaging/PET Optical imaging PET
Late-stage calcification
Advanced calcification	Hydroxyapatite	OsteoSense 18F-NaF	Optical imaging PET
	Calcium	–	Echocardiography CT

Optical imaging indicates one or more of the following modalities: Optical projection tomography (OPT), micro-optical coherence tomography (micro-OCT), fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) and intravital microscopy (IVM).

NIRF, near-infrared fluorescence; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; US, ultrasound; ROS, reactive oxygen species; MPO, myeloperoxidase; CLIO, cross-linked iron oxide; PET, positron emission tomography; FDG, fluorodeoxyglucose; NaF, sodium fluoride; CT, computed tomography.