Table 1.
Nanoparticles in AAA imaging.
| Nanoparticles | Ligands | Targets | Imaging technique | Models | Detailed application |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AuNPs | Methoxy-polyethylene glycol-thiol chains | NA | CT | Murine models | Provide clear and durable contrast enhancement of the vasculature even at 24 h (19). |
| EL-AuNPs | An elastin antibody | Elastin | CT | Ang II infusion in LDLr −/− mice | In vivo targeting to damaged aortic elastin in mice with AAA (20). |
| EL-AuNPs | An antibody against fragmented elastin | Fragmented elastin | CT | Porcine pancreatic elastase-induced AAA mice | Non-destructive estimation of mechanical and geometric features of AAAs when combined with CT (21). |
| Monocyte/ macrophage-targeted NPs | fluorine-18 [(18)F] | Monocyte/macrophage | PET-CT | ANG II infusion in apoE−/− mice | Quantitation of macrophage content in a mouse AAA model (22). |
| Iron oxide NPs | NA | Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) | MRI | Male Fisher rats implanted with ECM tubes | Evaluating whether magnetic cell labeling can be used to non-invasively assess the technical success of endovascular cell therapy for AAAs (23). |
| Human ferritin NPs (HFn) | Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) | Vascular inflammation and angiogenesis | MRI | Ang II infusion in apoE−/− mice | Enhances vascular molecular imaging by targeting both vascular inflammation and angiogenesis (24). |
| USPIO | NA | NA | MRI | Asymptomatic AAA patients | To distinguish those patients with more rapidly progressive AAA expansion (25). |
| Paramagnetic/ fluorescent micellar NPs | Collagen-binding protein (CNA-35) | Collagen | MRI | Ang II infusion combined with TGF-β neutralization mouse model | The presence of collagen was visualized by nanoparticle-enhanced MRI in AAA (26). |
| USPIO | NA | NA | MRI | Patients with AAA | Detection of vascular inflammation to further assess AAA rupture risk (27). |
| SPIO | NA | Macrophages | MRI | Ang II infusion in apoE−/− mice | Detection of macrophage activities in an ANG II-induced early-stage AAA model (28). |
| Nanoparticles | Ligands | Targets | Imaging technique | Models | Detailed application |
| SPIO | NA | NA | MRI | AAA patients within two weeks after EVAR | Detection of endoleaks in patients with AAA after EVAR (29). |
| Iron oxide NPs | NA | Macrophages | bioluminescence (BLI) and MRI | Porcine pancreatic elastase-induced AAA mice | Exploring macrophage homing and accumulation in experimental AAA disease (30). |
| Core/shell Fe/iron oxide NPs | MMP peptide substrate | MMP | MRI | An Ang II-induced AAA model | Detection of MMP activity within the AAA wall, thus representing a potential non-invasive method to predict the rupture risk of AAA (31). |
| Magnetic NPs | NA | NA | Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) | Ang II-induced ApoE−/− mice | Monitoring inflammatory progression in AAA in an experimental setting (32). |
AuNPs, gold nanoparticles; USPIO, ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide; NA, not acquired; MMP, matrix metalloproteinases; ANG II, Angiotensin II; LDLr, low density-lipoprotein receptor; apoE, apolipoprotein E; EVAR, endovascular aneurysm repair.