Nanotheranostics 2018; 2(2):117-127. doi:10.7150/ntno.18643 This issue Cite
Research Paper
1. Center for Theragnosis, Biomedical Research Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, 5, Hwarang-ro 14-gil, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea
2. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Interdisciplinary Program of Integrated Biotechnology, Sogang University, 35, Baekbeom-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul 04107, Republic of Korea
3. School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066, Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
4. Molecular Imaging and Neurovascular Research Laboratory, Dongguk University College of Medicine, Goyang 10326, Repulblic of Korea
5. KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
Development of biopolymer-based imaging agents which can access rapidly and provide detailed information about the diseases has received much attention as an alternative to conventional imaging agents. However, development of biopolymer-based nanomaterials for tumor imaging still remains challenging due to their low sensitivity and image resolution. To surmount of these limitations, multimodal imaging agents have been developed, and they were widely utilized for theranostic applications. Herein, iodine containing echogenic glycol chitosan nanoparticles are developed for x-ray computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) imaging of tumor diagnosis. X-ray CT/US dual-modal imaging probe was prepared by following below two steps. First, iodine-contained diatrizoic acid (DTA) was chemically conjugated to the glycol chitosan (GC) for the CT imaging. DTA conjugated GC (GC-DTA NPs) formed stable nanoparticles with an average diameter of 315 nm. Second, perfluoropentane (PFP), a US imaging agent, was physically encapsulated into GC-DTA NPs by O/W emulsion method yielding GC-DTA-PFP nanoparticles (GC-DTA-PFP NPs). The GC-DTA-PFP NPs formed nanoparticles in physiological condition, and they presented the strong x-ray CT, and US signals in phantom test in vitro. Importantly, GC-DTA-PFP NPs were effectively accumulated on the tumor site by enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effects. Moreover, GC-DTA-PFP NPs showed x-ray CT, and US signals in tumor tissues after intratumoral and intravenous injection, respectively. Therefore, GC-DTA-PFP NPs indicated that x-ray CT/US dual-modal imaging using iodinated echogenic nanoparticles could be provided more comprehensive and accurate diagnostic information to diagnosis of tumor.
Keywords: Glycol chitosan nanoparticles, Computed tomography, Ultrasound imaging, Tumor imaging, Dual-modal imaging