title: Cyanine-loaded lipid nanoparticles for improved in vivo fluorescence imaging.
abstract: Fluorescence is a very promising radioactive-free technique for functional imaging in small animals and, in the future, in humans. However, most commercial near-infrared dyes display poor optical properties, such as low fluorescence quantum yields and short fluorescence lifetimes. In this paper, we explore whether the encapsulation of infrared cyanine dyes within the core of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) could improve their optical properties. Lipophilic dialkylcarbocyanines DiD and DiR are loaded very efficiently in 30-35-nm-diam lipid droplets stabilized in water by surfactants. No significant fluorescence autoquenching is observed up to 53 dyes per particle. Encapsulated in LNP, which are stable for more than one year at room temperature in HBS buffer (HEPES 0.02 M, EDTA 0.01 M, pH 5.5), DiD and DiR display far improved fluorescence quantum yields Phi (respectively, 0.38 and 0.25) and longer fluorescence lifetimes tau (respectively, 1.8 and 1.1 ns) in comparison to their hydrophilic counterparts Cy5 (Phi=0.28, tau=1.0 ns) and Cy7 (Phi=0.13, tau=0.57 ns). Moreover, dye-loaded LNPs are able to accumulate passively in various subcutaneous tumors in mice, thanks to the enhanced permeability and retention effect. These new fluorescent nanoparticles therefore appear as very promising labels for in vivo fluorescence imaging.
authors.affiliation: Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, LETI-DTBS, 17 rue des Martyrs, Grenoble Cedex, 38054, France. isabelle.texier-nogues@cea.fr
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Texier
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goutayer
authors.forename: Anabela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Da Silva
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guyon
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Djaker
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Josserand
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Jéro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bibette
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vinet
mesh_terms: D002232:Carbocyanines / Q000737:chemistry*; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000737:chemistry*; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D002232:Carbocyanines; D003287:Contrast Media; D004337:Drug Carriers; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008055:Lipids