Figure 1: High resolution (78 _m in-plane resolution) coronal T2*-weighted images of rat brain on a 9.4 T MRI after administration of an MR contrast nanoprobe

Nanoscale control in fabricating nanoparticles allows for multi-functional carriers that can potentially enable personalized therapies that facilitate diagnosing, sensing, treating and monitoring the progress of treatment for each individual patient. To realize this vision, this research project integrates nanotechnology with anatomical and molecular imaging to develop nanoscale magnetic resonance (MR) and x‑ray contrast agents and methods of use for early cancer detection and prediction/monitoring of cancer therapies by non-invasively probing vascular permeability and molecular markers.

In a recent, significant discovery, we demonstrated that an x‑ray contrast nanoprobe can predict the response of an individual tumor to chemotherapy by non-invasively probing the tumor vascular permeability using mammography. Such prediction can therefore facilitate personalized therapy, and spare potential non-responders from the rigors of a chemotherapy regimen. In a subsequent development, a multifunctional nanocarrier was designed that simultaneously encapsulated a chemotherapeutic and a contrast agent, which enabled a personalized nanotherapeutic approach for cancer therapy by permitting tracking of the nanocarrier distribution using imaging. In other efforts, nanoprobes for x‑ray and MR imaging have been advanced to characterize brain tumors and cardiovascular diseases by probing vasculature and molecular markers.