Photon-Counting CT Steps Toward Molecular Imaging in Early Nanoparticle Study

Preclinical study shows photon-counting CT can quantify gold-terbium nanoparticles (R²=0.98) and folic acid boosts uptake in triple-negative breast cancer cells, hinting at targeted molecular CT imaging.

• Gold and terbium provide distinct K-edge signatures at approximately 81 and 52 keV, enabling material-specific quantification.
• The nanoparticles showed concentration-dependent attenuation and promising material quantification (R² = 0.98) on spectral CT.
• Folic acid functionalization increased nanoparticle uptake in triple-negative breast cancer cells, suggesting a path toward targeted biological imaging.

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