ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on the synthesis and application of optical and magnetic nanoparticulate probes and culminates with their integration into single multimodal nanoparticulate entities. It deals with a brief review of existing imaging techniques and provides rationale for the development of both nanoparticulate and multimodal probes. Bioimaging technologies have seen significant growth over the last two decades and are now a mainstay in research and diagnosis. Conventional imaging methods such as computed x-ray tomography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography are continually being advanced to enable improved diagnosis by enhancing spatial resolution and providing more reliable structural information. A number of noninvasive bioimaging methods are available for clinical diagnostic applications that rely on different waveforms to produce imaging signals from the specimen or patient of interest. The most advanced imaging techniques have been routinely developed with the use of small animals.