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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Jan 12.
Published in final edited form as: Sci Transl Med. 2014 Oct 29;6(260):260fs44. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaa0614

Fig. 1. Nano’s footprints.

Fig. 1.

The nanoparticle created by Phillips et al. (1) is composed of a silica shell encapsulating a Cy5 fluorophore (the “C dot”). PEG is bound to the nanoshell on one end and 124I-cRGDY on the other. After injection, most of the hybrid optical-PET imaging agent was excreted intact by the kidneys and bladder. The liver catches larger or uncoated nanoparticles, so this was not a major tissue for 124I-cRGDY-PEG-C dot accumulation. Small amounts of the tracer were detected in the thyroid (free iodine) and GI tract. The biodistribution [adapted from (1)] demonstrates that the urinary tract is the dominant route of excretion, which is favorable for translation.