Porphyrins are naturally occurring molecules. Porphysomes are simple multimodal nanoparticles that derive their multifunctionality from porphyrin-based building-blocks. While previous studies have probed their interactions with light, their capacity to stably chelate metal ions has gone largely uninvestigated. Herein are presented and discussed two investigations into metalloporphysomes. First is a method for non-invasively labeling porphysomes with radioactive copper-64. Utilizing exceptionally simple chemistry, this method produces a highly stable radiotracer capable of both PET and fluorescence imaging. Second is a profile of a MRI-detectable, photothermal agent whose photonic properties are serendipitously improved by the incorporation of MRI-active metal ions. By taking advantage of simple chemical substitutions, these studies illustrate methods of accessing new functionalities while maintaining a deeply simple construct, an often overlooked aspect in the development of multimodal nanoparticles.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/43251 |
| Date | 05 December 2013 |
| Creators | MacDonald, Thomas |
| Contributors | Zheng, Gang |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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