Gold Nanorods as Absorption Contrast Agents for the Noninvasive Detection of Arterial Vascular Disorders Based on Diffusion Reflection Measurements

In this study we report the use of gold nanorods (GNRs) as absorption contrast agents in the diffusion reflection (DR) method for the in vivo detection of atherosclerotic injury. The early detection and characterization of atherosclerotic vascular disease is considered to be one of the greatest medical challenges today. We show that macrophage cells, which are major components of unstable active atherosclerotic plaques, uptake gold nanoparticles, resulting in a change in the optical properties of tissue-like phantoms and a unique DR profile. In vivo DR measurements of rats that underwent injury of the carotid artery showed a clear difference between the DR profiles of the injured compared with healthy arteries. The results suggest that DR measurements following GNRs administration represent a potential novel method for the early detection of atherosclerotic vascular disease

Gold Nanorods as Absorption Contrast Agents for the Noninvasive Detection of Arterial Vascular Disorders Based on Diffusion Reflection Measurements

In this study we report the use of gold nanorods (GNRs) as absorption contrast agents in the diffusion reflection (DR) method for the in vivo detection of atherosclerotic injury. The early detection and characterization of atherosclerotic vascular disease is considered to be one of the greatest medical challenges today. We show that macrophage cells, which are major components of unstable active atherosclerotic plaques, uptake gold nanoparticles, resulting in a change in the optical properties of tissue-like phantoms and a unique DR profile. In vivo DR measurements of rats that underwent injury of the carotid artery showed a clear difference between the DR profiles of the injured compared with healthy arteries. The results suggest that DR measurements following GNRs administration represent a potential novel method for the early detection of atherosclerotic vascular disease

Angiopoietic markers in EPCs.

<p>Flow cytometry analysis for VE-Cadherin and TIE-2 in EPCs from patients with diabetes mellitus and healthy volunteers before and after in vitro vitamin D supplementation.</p

EPCs viability expressed by MTT assay.

<p>MTT in EPCs from patients with diabetes, with vs. without in vitro vitamin D supplementation (A). MTT in EPCs from Healthy volunteers, with vs. without in vitro vitamin D supplementation (B). The change in MTT values (delta MTT) after in vitro vitamin D supplementation in patients with diabetes mellitus who were previously treated with oral vitamin D vs those who were not (C).</p