AuroVist™ 15 nm:
Gold Blood Pool X-ray Contrast Agent for Micro CT

Unparalleled for Micro CT! An independent comparison study of microCT contrast agents evaluated AuroVist 15 nm against eXIA160XL, ExiTron nano 12000 and an equivalent iodine-based contrast agent. Their conclusion: "AuroVist 15 nm provided the highest attenuation...AuroVist 15 nm is best suited for anatomical investigation of the vascular network." Laura Nebuloni, Gisela A. Kuhn, Ralph Müller. A Comparative Analysis of Water-Soluble and Blood-Pool Contrast Agents for in vivo Vascular Imaging with Micro-CT. Academic Radiology 2013; 20:1247–1255. "Gold nanoparticles (AuNp) are becoming one of the most promising contrast agents for CT due to their remarkable properties including high x-ray absorption coefficient, tailored surface chemistry, and excellent biocompatibility." Darin P Clark, Ketan Ghaghada, Everett J Moding, David G Kirsch and Cristian T Badea. In vivo characterization of tumor vasculature using iodine and gold nanoparticles and dual energy micro-CT. 2013 Phys. Med. Biol. 58 1683   Not yet approved for clinical use. Dosage guidelines - How many mice per vial? Product Instructions and Protocols References: Papers published using AuroVist™ Featured paper from the Ellaume lab (Bobyk, 2013) Nanomedicine Tackles Brain Cancer: Gold Nanoparticle-Enhanced Radiation Therapy with AuroVist™ Featured paper from the Badea lab (Clark et al., 2013): AuroVist™ and Iodine: Visualizing Cancer Growth Featured papers from Trachet et al. (2011, 2013): Mapping Aneurysm Formation over Time: Repeated in vivo micro-CT with AuroVist™ in a mouse model Technical Help MSDS	In vivo micro-CT of mouse after injection with AuroVist 15 nm x-ray contrast agent.
	20µm blood vessels in a live mouse around legs and pelvic region after IV injection of AuroVist™-15nm.
	See also: AuroVist™ 1.9 nm for the best in kidney imaging and other applications

Amazing video of AuroVist™ 15 nm in action--

Gold Nanoparticles:
a New X-Ray Contrast Agent

• Highest contrast of any blood pool contrast agent
• Longest blood residence time
  of any contrast agent available - 24 hours!

• 200 mg Au/mL injected into mouse gives 1800 HU in blood vessels
• Low toxicity: LD50 >5.0 g Au/kg
• Low osmolality, even at high concentrations
• Low viscosity, similar to water; easy to inject, even into small vessels
• Long imaging times and high contrast: 
  Ideal for imaging by microCT
• Can be concentrated to 600 mg Au/mL for super contrast
• Sized to use EPR- leaks out of bloodstream into angiogenic, cancerous tissue for theranostics

MicroCT of brain of live mouse after IV injection of AuroVist-15 nm.
Tumor stands out (white density) due to penetration of AuroVist-15 nm
through the compromised blood-brain-tumor barrier.
Right: Skull computationally removed revealing brain vasculature.

Dosage guidelines: How many mice per 40 mg vial?

• 2 mice per 40 mg vial (1 g/kg for a 20 g mouse) yields high contrast for most applications. Nebuloni et al. used this dose in their 2013 comparative study, finding an attenuation of 2.33/mm, much better than the other x-ray contrast agents at equivalent dose.
• For super-resolution, use the entire 40 mg vial per mouse (2 g/kg for a 20 g mouse). This is the dose used in Hainfeld et al.'s 2013 paper. We don't see toxicity problems in our laboratory with even very high doses -- we have so far only been limited by the total volume that a mouse can take.
• Remember that the blood half-life is 24 hours, so repeat imaging is possible even days after a single injection:

"Because of the slow clearance process of gold nanoparticles, an anatomical representation of blood vessels is still possible at 2 and 3 days after injection. This particular feature of AuroVist 15 nm might allow follow-up imaging without repeated injections or with lower doses of contrast material." (Nebuloni, 2013)

 

Price List: AuroVist™ Gold X-ray Contrast Agent Custom conjugation is also available, of Nanogold®, FluoroNanogold, undecagold or colloidal gold to primary antibodies, peptides, small molecules, or other molecules. Dosage Guidelines View Cart #1115-40MGAu AuroVist™ 15 nm 15 nm gold nanoparticles containing 40 mg gold metal. Supplied dissolved in 0.2 mL phosphate buffered saline (PBS: 20 mM sodium phosphate with 150 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4), filtered through a 0.22 µm filter. 40 mg Au $362 Qty: Code (Optional) #1115A-5X40MGAu AuroVist™ 15 nm 5 vials Five vials of 15 nm gold nanoparticles, each containing 40 mg gold metal. Supplied dissolved in 0.2 mL phosphate buffered saline (PBS: 20 mM sodium phosphate with 150 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4), filtered through a 0.22 µm filter. 5 x 40 mg Au $1,684 Qty: Code (Optional) Need a smaller version? See also: AuroVist 1.9 nm Clears through kidneys Biphasic clearance still allows ample time for long micro-CT scans [ Learn more ] International orders: Our regional distributors can provide expedited customs processing and delivery.