Unmodified Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles as a potential contrast agent in photon emission computed tomography

• Main Authors: Khalid, A., Ahmad, P., Alharthi, A. I., Muhammad, S., Khandaker, Mayeen Uddin *, Faruque, M. R. I., Din, I. U., Alotaibi, M. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 2021
• Subjects: R895-920 Medical Physics/Medical Radiology
• Online Access: http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1668/1/Mayeen%20Unmodified%20Titanium.pdf; http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1668/; http://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11020171

Highly crystalline titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 -NPs) are synthesized via a simple hydrothermal technique. After structural and compositional analysis, the as-synthesized unmodified TiO2 -NPs are tested for improvement in two modes of kilovoltage radiation therapy and singlephoton emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT). Our results show that the unmodified TiO2 -NPs provide an observable enhancement in CT scan image contrast ranging from 0 ± 3 HU (without NPs) to 283.7 ± 3 HU (0.23 g/mL). TiO2 -NPs has excellent biocompatibility, selective uptake at target sites, and reduced toxicity. The unmodified TiO2 -NPs as a contrast agent can significantly improve the existing methods of diagnosing and treating cancer.