Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 March 2011
Molecular imaging is the characterization, visualization, and measurement of biological processes in space and over time at the molecular and cellular level in humans and other living systems. There are two types of molecular imaging probes: naturally occurring intrinsic probes, consisting of molecules that can be visualized in the host or in isolated tissues by appropriate imaging techniques, and extrinsic probes, usually synthetic, which are introduced into the host to facilitate detection by a specific imaging technique.
A very important subclass of extrinsic probes is nanoparticles, consisting of large molecules or particles to which extrinsic imaging probes are attached for diagnosis of specific lesions or diseases. Ideally, these nanoparticles are selectively targeted to specific cells via antibodies or receptor-targeting components of the nanoparticle (e.g., the receptor-binding sequence of a lipoprotein or of a protein like transferrin). These nanoparticles may also deliver therapeutic agents, thereby facilitating a seamless transition between diagnosis and therapy. Such versatile probes, called theranostic agents, lie at the heart of the individualized diagnosis and therapy that is the goal of much current medical research.
Table 17.1 lists the various targets of molecular imaging. Except for the drugs, these targets are all intrinsic to the body. Some can be imaged directly and hence are considered intrinsic probes, but others require the addition of an extrinsic probe that binds to the target molecule and thereby makes it detectable by a molecular imaging technique.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.