# Quantum-dot and molecular ultrasound imaging agents

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/quantum-dot-imaging/  
OnCo record `quantum-dot-imaging` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Brighter, longer-lasting fluorescent particles and targeted microbubbles that make tumours visible during surgery or on an ultrasound scan.

## Summary

Semiconductor quantum dots are far brighter and more photostable than dyes, and shortwave-infrared emitters see several centimetres into tissue; targeted microbubbles make ultrasound molecular rather than anatomic, with BR55 imaging VEGFR2 in early human studies. Heavy-metal core toxicity has slowed quantum-dot translation, and cadmium-free designs are the active area. Clinically approved agents remain conventional dyes.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: preclinical
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Tags: frontier
- Principle: Nanocrystals or gas-filled microbubbles carrying targeting ligands accumulate at a molecular marker and are read out optically or acoustically.
- Strengths: Brightness and photostability far beyond dyes; Ultrasound is cheap, portable and radiation-free; Multiplexing several markers at once
- Limitations: Heavy-metal toxicity concerns for classic quantum dots; Depth still limited for optical agents; Long regulatory path for nanomaterials

## Sources

- ClinicalTrials.gov: molecular ultrasound imaging cancer: https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?term=molecular%20ultrasound%20imaging%20cancer

## Connected records

- fronts: [Imaging](https://onco.cc/fronts/imaging/), [Surgery & Interventional](https://onco.cc/fronts/surgery/)
- technologies: [Elastography and contrast-enhanced ultrasound](https://onco.cc/technologies/ultrasound-elastography-ceus/), [Fluorescence-guided surgery](https://onco.cc/technologies/fluorescence-guided-surgery/), [Immuno-PET](https://onco.cc/technologies/immuno-pet/), [Optical & fluorescence imaging](https://onco.cc/technologies/optical-imaging/), [Ultrasound](https://onco.cc/technologies/ultrasound/)
- targets: [VEGF / VEGFR](https://onco.cc/targets/vegf/)
- roadmaps: [Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/frontier-2035/)

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