Study Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Solution as an Alternative of Iodine Contrast Medium of CT-Scan Imaging of the Heart, Kidney, and Liver

Abstract

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) solution was chosen as an alternative contrast medium in computed tomography scanning (CT-scan). ZnONPs solution has good electrochemical property, especially in blood medium. It was found that ZnO in the blood medium acts as an antioxidative detector because cyclic voltammogram imaging has only one reduction current peak at -0.75 volt, while iodine compounds are used as a common contrast medium in CT; they have an oxidation current peak in the blood medium at +1 volt. Additionally, iodine compounds caused many problems when used as a contrast medium, but they were the only contrast media used for this purpose. It was found that the use of ZnO solution as an alternative contrast medium in rabbits resulted in improved CT imaging in resolution and increased Hounsfield unit (HU) values for rabbit's organs (heart, kidney, and liver), compared to using iodine compound at the same dose.