Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Feature
  • Published:

Too far ahead of the curve?

Nature Biotechnology volume 25, pages 1220–1221 (2007)Cite this article

The paper describes near-infrared (NIR) fluorescing derivatives of bisphosphonates, which are used clinically to inhibit demine-ralization by osteoclasts and shift the balance between mineralization and demineralization to bone formation. These labeled bisphosphonates bind to hydroxyapatite (HA), which is deposited by osteoblasts during bone formation, therefore revealing osteoblastic activity. Frangioni and his team chose the NIR part of the spectrum because biological molecules have minimum absorbance spectra and scatter in this region. Frangioni's team demonstrated the technology by studying the growing skeletal structure in living mice.

They went on to demonstrate a variety of nonskeletal applications of the agents. One NIR fluorophore derivative was shown to spread rapidly throughout the body and highlight small defects in the skin, making it potentially useful for the detection of dermatological disease. HA deposition can also lead to middle- and inner-ear anomalies, which could be detected using these agents. The method could also be used to detect HA deposition in coronary calcification, which is an early stage of atherosclerotic lesions.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Zaheer, A. et al. In vivo near-infrared fluorescence imaging of osteoblastic activity Nat. Biotechnol. 19, 1148–1154 (2001). (66 citations)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Kim, S. et al. Near-infrared fluorescent type II quantum dots for sentinel lymph node mapping Nat. Biotechnol. 22, 93–97 (2004). (245 citations)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Too far ahead of the curve?. Nat Biotechnol 25, 1220–1221 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1107-1220b

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1107-1220b

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing