Multiplexed imaging of therapeutic cells with multispectrally encoded magnetofluorescent nanocomposite emulsions.
Here, we describe the fabrication of multispectrally encoded nanoprobes, perfluorocarbon (PFC)/quantum dots (QDs) nanocomposite emulsions, which could provide both multispectral MR and multicolor optical imaging modalities. Our strategy exploited the combination of the multispectral MR properties of four different PFC materials and the multicolor emission properties of three different colored CdSe/ZnS QDs. The PFC/QDs nanocomposite emulsions were fabricated by exchanging hydrophobic ligands coated onto CdSe/ZnS QDs using 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctanethiol, which renders the QDs to be dispersible in the PFC liquids. To provide biocompatibility, the PFC liquids containing QDs were emulsified into aqueous solutions with the aid of phospholipids. The distinct (19)F-based MR images of PFC/QDs nanocomposite emulsions were obtained by selective excitation of the nanocomposite emulsions with magnetic resonance frequency of each PFC, while a specific fluorescence image of them could be selected using appropriate optical filters. The uptake of PFC/QDs nanocomposite emulsions was high in phagocytic cells such as macrophages (90.55%) and dendritic cells (85.34%), while it was low in nonphagocytic T cells (33%). We have also shown that the nanocomposite emulsions were successfully applied to differentially visualize immunotherapeutic cells (macrophages, dendritic cells, and T cells) in vivo. The PFC/QDs nanocomposite emulsions are expected to be a promising multimodality nanoprobe for the multiplexed detection and imaging of therapeutic cells both in vitro and in vivo.
Lim
Yong Taik
YT
BioNanotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon 305-806, South Korea.
Noh
Young-Woock
YW
Cho
Jee-Hyun
JH
Han
Jung Hyun
JH
Choi
Bang Sil
BS
Kwon
Jina
J
Hong
Kwan Soo
KS
Gokarna
Anisha
A
Cho
Yong-Hoon
YH
Chung
Bong Hyun
BH
D004655:Emulsions; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D008280:Magnetics
D004655:Emulsions; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes