The specificity of Gd-Au-NC-GPC1 nanoparticles was studied in an in vitro model, comparing uptake by pancreatic cancer (PC) cells (COLO-357-pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma) and normal cells (human embryonic kidney 293T), and also in an animal model where xenografted PC cells were detected by dual-modal fluorescence imaging/magnetic resonance imaging (FI/MRI) 30 minutes after injection (32). The gene discussed is GPC1; the disease is familial pancreatic carcinoma.