Multimodal MRI-Ultrasound Medical Imaging of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles

Contrast agents are routinely utilized in medical imaging. By taking advantage of a certain distinct property of the substance, the image contrast is improved, resulting in a more accurate diagnosis. The past decade has seen the rapid development of nanoparticles as contrast agents, since their unique physical characteristics may increase tumor detectability. In this study, we examined the feasibility of increasing image contrast using copper oxide nanoparticles under MRI and ultrasound. The proposed nanoparticles were in-house synthesized and characterized as 7 nm in diameter, much smaller than the commonly used ultrasound contrast agents. A set of in-vitro and ex-vivo experiments revealed that the particles increase the ultrasonic attenuation coefficient, enabling copper detection using trough-transmission ultrasound. MRI studies demonstrated that the magnetic T1-relaxation is affected by the particles` presence, yielding image brightening. In conclusion, the potential of copper oxide nanoparticles to serve as multimodal medical imaging contrast agents was demonstrated. A significant benefit of the proposed nanoparticles is the hazardless nature of both MRI and ultrasound.