Issue 7, 2013

Hyperbranched polymers for bioimaging

Abstract

Hyperbranched polymers (HBPs) are highly branched macromolecules with a three-dimensional dendritic architecture. Benefiting from their highly branched topological structures, convenient synthetic procedures and unique physical/chemical properties, HBPs have been used to construct bioimaging probes and contrast agents, which exhibit enhanced stability, reduced toxicity, prolonged plasma half-life, and improved targeting specificity. Recently, the combination of these HBP-based probes or contrast agents with various imaging modalities showed great potential in biological imaging, including optical imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear imaging, and ultrasound imaging. This review summarizes the current advances in HBPs for bioimaging as well as their potential applications in clinical diagnosis.

Graphical abstract: Hyperbranched polymers for bioimaging

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
18 Sep 2012
Accepted
04 Nov 2012
First published
06 Nov 2012

RSC Adv., 2013,3, 2071-2083

Hyperbranched polymers for bioimaging

Q. Zhu, F. Qiu, B. Zhu and X. Zhu, RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 2071 DOI: 10.1039/C2RA22210H

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