Fig. 6

In vivo CT imaging of DSS-induced colitis mice and healthy mice administered Ho-DOTA, and Ho-DOTA accumulated in the inflamed large intestines of DSS-colitis mice. a Representative CT images of healthy mice, pre- and post-oral administration of Ho-DOTA. b Representative CT images of colitis mice, pre- and post-oral administration of Ho-DOTA (Blue arrows represent stomach and yellow arrows represent small intestine, green circle indicates Ho-DOTA accumulation in an area of colitis). c Representative CT images of healthy or colitis mice at pre and 24 h post oral administration of Ho-DOTA (Yellow circle indicates Ho-DOTA accumulation in an area of colitis). d Graph showing CT attenuation in the large intestines of healthy and DSS-colitis mice at the 24 h time point. e The H&E staining of control group’s colon section and 5% DSS group’s colon section (scale bar: 50 µm) (Red arrow: lamina intestinal gland disappeared and repalced by hyperplasticn connective tissue). f Holmium contents in the large intestines of healthy and colitis mice at 24 h post administration of Ho-DOTA by ICP-OES test. g Representative electron micrographs depicting the accumulation of Ho-DOTA in the large intestine of a DSS-colitis mouse at 24 h. h Magnification of the area inside the black square in panel (g). experiment, the CT enhancement effect of Ho-DOTA was better than that of iohexol at the same concentration