MIT‘s Jeremiah Johnson is developing nanoparticles that can simultaneously perform MRI and fluorescent imaging in animals. The goal is to allow scientists to track specific molecules produced in the body, monitor a tumor’s environment, or determine whether drugs have successfully reached their targets.
A recent study used the particles to track vitamin C in mice. Where there was a high concentration of vitamin C, they showed a strong fluorescent signal but little MRI contrast. With little vitamin C, they showed a strong MRI signal but weak fluorescence.
Future versions could detect reactive oxygen species correlated with disease, or tailored to detect more than one molecule at a time.