Tsukuba, Japan, Mar 10, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Scientists have found a way to control the size of special nanoparticles to optimize their use for both magnetic resonance and near-infrared imaging. Their approach could help surgeons use the same nanoparticles to visualize tumours just before and then during surgery using the two different imaging techniques. Their findings were published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials.The scientists injected the nanoparticle solution into the tail veins of live mice and were able to obtain high quality MRI (L) and near-infrared fluorescence (R) scans of tissues and blood vessels."Magnetic resonance imaging is routinely used in pre-operative diagnosis, while surgeons have started using near-infrared fluorescence imaging during surgical procedures," says nanobiotechnologist Kyohei Okubo of Tokyo University of Science. "Our nanoparticle probes could provide a bimodality that will be clinically appealing to medical device researchers and doctors."Ceramic nanoparticles made with the rare earth metals ytterbium (Yb) and erbium (Er) have demonstrated low toxicity and prolonged near-infrared luminescence, show...