A dual-mode nanoparticle based on natural biomaterials for photoacoustic and magnetic resonance imaging of bone mesenchymal stem cells .

Stem cell imaging is critical to elucidate the homing, distribution, survival, and repair mechanisms and to evaluate the therapeutic effects of engrafted stem cells. Unfortunately, unimodal imaging of stem cells does not simultaneously satisfy all current requirements owing to their intrinsic limitations. Obviously, bimodal or multimodal imaging of stem cells is a promising strategy for circumventing this issue.