Functionalized nanoparticles in pulmonary disease diagnosis

The prevalent techniques in radiological imaging pose a serious threat as the high dose of background radiation could cause granulomas along with asphyxiation in the lung, preventing routine use of these techniques for the monitoring of pulmonary disease. The use of nanoparticles in the diagnosis of pulmonary diseases is a recent advancement in this area. The properties of nanoparticles such as their magnetic behavior under the influence of an external magnetic field have resulted in its use for magnetic resonance imaging, while the ability to differentiate tissue based on density (accumulation based on tissue type) has been utilized in CT. Nanoparticles serve as the future for contrast agents in different imaging modalities due to their physicochemical characteristics and controlled behavior in vivo, with the capability for multimodal imaging. A synergistic diagnostic approach by using multimodal imaging and spirometry could be the key in early diagnosis and prevention of further disease progression.