Lipid Shell Composition Plays a Critical Role in the Stable Size Reduction of Perfluorocarbon Nanodroplets

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Steven K. Yarmoska, Emory University; Heechul Yoon, Georgia Institute of Technology; Stanislav Emelianov, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-06-01
• Publisher: Elsevier Inc.
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2019 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2019.02.009
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 6
• Start Page: 1489
• End Page: 1499
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01CA149740) and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF-18-043).; SKY is supported by a predoctoral fellowship through the National Institutes of Health (F30CA216939).; Additional support was provided through the Georgia Research Alliance and the endowment of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
• Keywords: Cell Line, Tumor; Nanoparticles; Ultrasonography; Disease Models, Animal; Animals; Image Enhancement; Perfluorocarbon nanodroplets; Fluorocarbons; Lipids; Mice, Nude; Female; Cancer; Lipid; Nanoemulsions; Breast Neoplasms; Mice; Photoacoustics; Contrast Media; Ultrasound
• Research Categories: Physics, Acoustics; Engineering, Biomedical; Health Sciences, Oncology

Abstract

Perfluorocarbon nanodroplets (PFCnDs)are phase-change contrast agents that have the potential to enable extravascular contrast-enhanced ultrasound and photoacoustic (US/PA)imaging. Producing consistently small, monodisperse PFCnDs remains a challenge without resorting to technically challenging methods. We investigated the impact of variable shell composition on PFCnD size and US/PA image properties. Our results suggest that increasing the molar percentage of PEGylated lipid reduces the size and size variance of PFCnDs. Furthermore, our imaging studies revealed that nanodroplets with more PEGylated lipids produce increased US/PA signal compared with those with the standard formulation. Finally, we highlight the ability of this approach to facilitate US/PA imaging in a murine model of breast cancer. These data indicate that, through a facile synthesis process, it is possible to produce monodisperse, small-sized PFCnDs. Novel in their simplicity, these methods may promote the use of PFCnDs among a broader user base to study a variety of extravascular phenomena.