Prussian blue nanocubes as a multimodal contrast agent for image-guided stem cell therapy of the spinal cord

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Kelsey P. Kubelick, Georgia Institute of Technology; Stanislav Emelianov, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-06-01
• Publisher: Elsevier GmbH
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2020 The Authors.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pacs.2020.100166
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Photoacoustics
• Volume: 18
• Start Page: 100166
• End Page: 100166
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported in part by the grants from the National Institutes of Health (EB015007 and EY030071).; This work was performed in part at Georgia Tech’s Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure, which is supported by the National Science Foundation (grant no. ECCS-1542174).
• Keywords: Multimodal imaging; Nanoparticles; Photoacoustic imaging; Spinal cord; Biomedical engineerig; Ultrasound; Stem cells; Magnetic resonance imaging
• Research Categories: Engineering, Biomedical; Biology, Cell; Engineering, Electronics and Electrical

Abstract

Translation of stem cell therapies to treat injuries and diseases of the spinal cord is hindered by lack of real-time monitoring techniques to guide regenerative therapies intra- and postoperatively. Thus, we developed an ultrasound (US), photoacoustic (PA), and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging approach augmented with Prussian blue nanocubes (PBNCs) to guide stem cell injections intraoperatively and monitor stem cell therapies in the spinal cord postoperatively. Per the clinical procedure, a multi-level laminectomy was performed in rats ex vivo, and PBNC-labeled stem cells were injected directly into the spinal cord while US/PA images were acquired. US/PA/MR images were also acquired post-surgery. Several features of the imaging approach were demonstrated including detection of low stem cell concentrations, real-time needle guidance and feedback on stem cell delivery, and good agreement between US/PA/MR images. These benefits span intra- and postoperative environments to support future development of this imaging tool.