MicroPET, MicroSPECT, and NIR Fluorescence Imaging of Biomolecules In Vivo

Molecular imaging is a newly merged multidisciplinary subject that requires contributions from biology, medical physics, and chemistry/radiochemistry. Integrin αv β3 , a cell adhesion molecule, plays pivotal roles in regulating tumor angiogenesis and the growth of new blood vessels. In this chapter, we use the cell adhesion molecule integrin αv β3 as an example to demonstrate how one can synthesize appropriate arginine–glycine–aspartic acid (RGD) peptide-containing probes for visualizing and quantifying the receptor expression in vivo by means of microPET, microSPECT, and NIR fluorescence.