Graphene quantum dots as X-ray contrast agent

Much is discussed about the importance of contrast agents for their ability to improve image resolution and identification of soft tissues, but their limitations and possible negative consequences are indeed problems to be solved. Such contrast agents are used in medical imaging, which is a medical specialty with the function of providing information about various parts of the body, helping in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and for each existing case there are different imaging technologies, being X-ray and computed tomography (CT) the most used. The difficulty of identifying soft tissue is present in the two modality mentioned above and in view of this, a need was generated for a new type of contrast agent, having as an option, due to the low toxicity and good functionality, the graphene quantum dots (GQDs) that are nano-sized single layers of graphene with hexagonal shape in quantum confinement, which has several important characteristics that together make imaging possible in both X-ray and CT.