{"entity":{"id":"quantum-dot-imaging","kind":"technology","name":"Quantum-dot and molecular ultrasound imaging agents","aka":[],"tldr":"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.","status":"preclinical","asOf":"2026-09-08","links":[{"label":"ClinicalTrials.gov: molecular ultrasound imaging cancer","url":"https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?term=molecular%20ultrasound%20imaging%20cancer"}],"tags":["frontier"],"related":[],"cancers":[],"sections":["imaging","surgery"],"technologies":["optical-imaging","fluorescence-guided-surgery","ultrasound","immuno-pet"],"targets":["vegf"],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"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"]},"route":"/technologies/quantum-dot-imaging/","neighbours":{"section":[{"id":"imaging","kind":"section","name":"Imaging","route":"/fronts/imaging/"},{"id":"surgery","kind":"section","name":"Surgery & Interventional","route":"/fronts/surgery/"}],"technology":[{"id":"ultrasound-elastography-ceus","kind":"technology","name":"Elastography and contrast-enhanced ultrasound","route":"/technologies/ultrasound-elastography-ceus/"},{"id":"fluorescence-guided-surgery","kind":"technology","name":"Fluorescence-guided surgery","route":"/technologies/fluorescence-guided-surgery/"},{"id":"immuno-pet","kind":"technology","name":"Immuno-PET","route":"/technologies/immuno-pet/"},{"id":"optical-imaging","kind":"technology","name":"Optical & fluorescence imaging","route":"/technologies/optical-imaging/"},{"id":"ultrasound","kind":"technology","name":"Ultrasound","route":"/technologies/ultrasound/"}],"target":[{"id":"vegf","kind":"target","name":"VEGF / VEGFR","route":"/targets/vegf/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"frontier-2035","kind":"roadmap","name":"Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035","route":"/roadmaps/frontier-2035/"}]}}