Gold-coated plant virus as computed tomography imaging contrast agent

Alaa A. A. Aljabali, Mazhar S. Al Zoubi, Khalid M. Al-Batanyeh, Ali Al-Radaideh, Mohammad A. Obeid, Abeer Al Sharabi, Walhan Alshaer, Bayan AbuFares, Tasnim Al-Zanatil, Murtaza M. Tambuwala, Naveed Akbar, David J. Evans

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)
29 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Chemical modification of the surface of viruses, both the interior and the exterior, imparts new functionalities, that have potential applications in nanomedicine. In this study, we developed novel virus-based nanomaterials as a contrast agent for computed tomography (CT) imaging in vitro. The gold-coated cowpea mosaic virus (Au-CPMV) particles were generated by the electrostatic adsorption of positively charged electrolyte on the virus capsid with the subsequent incubation and reduction of anionic gold complexes. Au-CPMV particles as a CT contrast agent offer a fast scan time (less than 2 min), low cost, and biocompatibility and allow for high-resolution imaging with ca. 150 Hounsfield units (HU). The Au-CPMV surface was further modified allowing for the incorporation of targeting molecules of specific cell types.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1983-1993
Number of pages11
JournalBeilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
Volume10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 7 Oct 2019

Keywords

  • Biomedical imaging
  • Computed tomography (CT)
  • Gold
  • Nanotechnology
  • Targeting
  • Viruses

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