Application of gold nanoparticles in photoacoustic imaging

Abstract

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is a noninvasive imaging mode that be rapidly developed in recent years for medical diagnosis and treatment by using contrast agents. Among them, gold nanomaterials (GNPs) offer a suitable platform for PA imaging, owing to their advantageous physical/chemical/biological properties and high-intensity absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) region. In this review, we firstly concentrate on the recent development of GNPs and their assemblies for PA imaging. Then, the future development in the research of GNPs as PA imaging contrast agents are discussed.