ABSTRACT
One area of particular relevance to optoacoustic imaging is the enhancement of malignant tumor contrast relative to background normal tissue. Although optoacoustic imaging has been shown to be superior to the commonly employed clinical imaging modalities in terms of contrast, optoacoustic contrast agents offer the possibility of both visualizing and treating currently invisible pathological entities. It is likely that operation of a variety of imaging and monitoring devices utilizing optoacoustic principles may be enhanced with application of contrast agents based on metal nanoparticles (NPs) possessing plasmon resonance absorption. Gold and silver NPs will be homogeneously heated with the nanosecond pulses of Q-switched lasers commonly used in optoacoustic imaging and sensing. Solid gold and silver nanorods (NRs) not only possess the strongest optical absorption, the peak of this absorption can be conveniently tuned by making them longer, while keeping their diameter constant.
