Patent ID: 8617522

Claim:
A method for multimodal bio-imaging comprising: providing a multimodal nanoparticle comprising a dielectric core comprising at least one oxide, a speckled metal deposition on said core where said metal deposition and said dielectric core have an interface with interpenetrated gradient, and a plurality of at least one moiety that exhibits luminescence, magnetic or paramagnetic properties, or any combination thereof, wherein said multimodal nanoparticle is a contrast agent for photo acoustic tomography (PAT) imaging and x-ray imaging, and at least one of luminescence imaging and/or magnetic resonance (MR) imaging; introducing said multimodal nanoparticle to a desired location; and imaging the desired location by photo acoustic tomography (PAT) imaging and at least one of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, luminescence imaging, or x-ray imaging, wherein said multimodal nanoparticle enhances the contrast observed in said imaging, and wherein said imaging is performed simultaneously or sequentially.