Quantitative imaging of gold nanoparticle distribution for preclinical studies of gold nanoparticle-aided radiation therapy

Manohar, Nivedh Harshan

Title:

Quantitative imaging of gold nanoparticle distribution for preclinical studies of gold nanoparticle-aided radiation therapy

dc.contributor.advisor	Cho, Sang Hyun
dc.contributor.advisor	Wang, C.-K. Chris
dc.contributor.author	Manohar, Nivedh Harshan
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Elder, Eric S.
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Deo, Chaitanya S.
dc.contributor.department	Mechanical Engineering
dc.date.accessioned	2016-05-27T13:10:10Z
dc.date.available	2016-05-27T13:10:10Z
dc.date.created	2015-05
dc.date.issued	2015-04-06
dc.date.submitted	May 2015
dc.date.updated	2016-05-27T13:10:10Z
dc.description.abstract	Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have recently attracted considerable interest for use in radiation therapy due to their unique physical and biological properties. Of interest, GNPs (and other high-atomic-number materials) have been used to enhance radiation dose in tumors by taking advantage of increased photoelectric absorption. This physical phenomenon is well-understood on a macroscopic scale. However, biological outcomes often depend on the intratumoral and even intracellular distribution of GNPs, among other factors. Therefore, there exists a need to precisely visualize and accurately quantify GNP distributions. By virtue of the photoelectric effect, x-ray fluorescence (XRF) photons (characteristic x-rays) from gold can be induced and detected, not only allowing the distribution of GNPs within biological samples to be determined but also providing a unique molecular imaging option in conjunction with bioconjugated GNPs. This work proposes the use of this imaging modality, known as XRF imaging, to develop experimental imaging techniques for detecting and quantifying sparse distributions of GNPs in preclinical settings, such as within small-animal-sized objects, tissue samples, and superficial tumors. By imaging realistic GNP distributions, computational methods can then be used to understand radiation dose enhancement on an intratumoral scale and perhaps even down to the nanoscopic, subcellular realm, elucidating observed biological outcomes (e.g., radiosensitization of tumors) from the bottom-up. Ultimately, this work will result in experimental and computational tools for developing a better understanding of GNP-mediated dose enhancement and associated radiosensitization within the scope of GNP-aided radiation therapy.
dc.description.degree	Ph.D.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1853/54877
dc.language.iso	en_US
dc.publisher	Georgia Institute of Technology
dc.subject	Gold nanoparticle
dc.subject	Radiation therapy
dc.subject	X-ray fluorescence
dc.subject	Imaging
dc.subject	Computed tomography
dc.subject	Dose enhancement
dc.subject	Nanotechnology
dc.subject	Gold
dc.subject	Gold nanoparticle-aided radiation therapy
dc.subject	Monte Carlo method
dc.subject	Cancer treatment
dc.title	Quantitative imaging of gold nanoparticle distribution for preclinical studies of gold nanoparticle-aided radiation therapy
dc.type	Text
dc.type.genre	Dissertation
dspace.entity.type	Publication
local.contributor.advisor	Wang, C.-K. Chris
local.contributor.corporatename	George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
local.contributor.corporatename	College of Engineering
relation.isAdvisorOfPublication	71d23899-d6d4-4d7f-b9bc-d30323a6f442
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	c01ff908-c25f-439b-bf10-a074ed886bb7
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	7c022d60-21d5-497c-b552-95e489a06569
thesis.degree.level	Doctoral