Targeted nanoparticles for cardiovascular molecular imaging

Molecular imaging is aimed at noninvasive visualization of fundamental (disease) biomarkers in living organisms. Molecular imaging holds great promise in facilitating patient-specific disease diagnosis, treatment planning, monitoring of local drug delivery, and early evaluation of therapy. This paper reviews recent major accomplishments in the field of molecular imaging of cardiovascular disease, with particular focus on the use of nanoparticles as signal beacons for target-specific imaging.