Enhanced Ultrasound Contrast of Renal‐Clearable Luminescent Gold Nanoparticles

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 60; no. 21; pp. 11713 - 11717
• Main Authors: Tan, Yue, Chen, Miaona, Chen, Huarui, Wu, Juefei, Liu, Jinbin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 17.05.2021
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: Agglomeration; Animals; Charge reversal; Contrast Media - chemistry; Contrast Media - metabolism; Contrast Media - pharmacokinetics; Female; Fluorescence; Fluorescent Dyes - chemistry; Fluorescent Dyes - metabolism; Fluorescent Dyes - pharmacokinetics; Gold; Gold - chemistry; imaging; Kidney - metabolism; Kidney - pathology; Kidney diseases; Kidney Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Kidney Diseases - metabolism; Kidney Diseases - pathology; kidney injury; Kidneys; luminescent gold nanoparticle; Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Nanoparticles; Reabsorption; renal clearance; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasonic Waves; Ultrasonography - methods; Ultrasound; ultrasound contrast; renal clearance; ultrasound contrast; kidney injury; imaging; luminescent gold nanoparticle
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.202017273

Renal‐clearable nanoparticles are typically fast eliminated through the free glomerular filtration, which show weak interaction with the renal compartments and negligible ultrasound signals, raising challenges in direct imaging of kidney diseases. Here, we report the ultrasmall renal‐clearable luminescent gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with both pH‐induced charge reversal and aggregation properties, and discover that enhanced ultrasound contrast could be facilely acquired through the increased tubular reabsorption and in situ aggregation of AuNPs in renal tubule cells in injured kidneys. The tuning elimination pathway of the renal‐clearable luminescent AuNPs is further demonstrated to provide a synergistical fluorescence and ultrasound imaging strategy for diagnosing early kidney injury with precise anatomical information. Ultrasmall renal‐clearable luminescent gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with both pH‐induced charge reversal and aggregation properties are designed to achieve significant reabsorption and in situ aggregation of AuNPs in tubular cells of injured kidneys to show enhanced ultrasound signals toward synergetic fluorescence and ultrasound diagnosis of early kidney injury with precise anatomical information.