Contrast Agents for Computed Tomography Based on Gold Nanoparticles

Gold nanoparticles hold excellent surface properties,multiple synthestic routes and good biocompatibility.Currently,the commercial clinical Computed Tomography(CT)contrast agents are iodine based organic molecules.Compared with iodine,Gold has a larger atomic number and X-ray absorption coefficient.In recent years,quite a few works about using gold nanoparticles as CT contrast agents have been published.In this review,We outlined the synthesis routes,surface modification,and the behaviors of gold nanoparticles as CT contrast agents.We emphasized the tryout of PEG,gum arabic,gadolinium chelate,and high-density lipoproteins etc.as surfactant to coat gold nanoparticles for CT imaging.We also discussed the existent problems of the newly developed contrast agents and looked forward to the future of them.