Graphene quantum dots as bimodal imaging agent for X-ray and Computed Tomography.

The urgency of new contrast agents, especially for X-ray and Computed Tomography (CT) is increasing each day. Although both imaging modalities are the most routinely used imaging techniques, the availability of contrast agent is very limited. In this scenario, the use of graphene quantum dots (GQDs), a member of the graphene family, which has several characteristics, including low toxicity, good biocompatibility and physical-chemical properties, may represent an important application of this material. Thus, using X-ray (conventional) and CT analysis was evaluated the applicability of GQDs as contrast agent for both imaging modalities. The results demonstrated that GQDs are able to attenuate X-ray forming sharp imaging in both modalities. The data broaden the spectrum of GQDs use.