Journal article
Balancing stealth and echogenic properties in an ultrasound contrast agent with drug delivery potential
Biomaterials, v 103, pp 197-206
01 Oct 2016
PMID: 27388945
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Contrast agents are currently being modified to combine diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities. For ultrasound (US) imaging with polymeric contrast agents, it is necessary to modify the shell to create "stealth" microbubbles but without these modifications sacrificing the agent's ability to interact with the focused US beam. We hypothesize that addition of the classic immune shielding molecule polyethylene glycol (PEG) to a polylactide (PLA) microbubble shell will affect the acoustic and physical properties of the resulting agents. In an effort to determine the best formulation to achieve a balance between stealth and acoustic activity, we compared two PEGylation techniques; addition of increasing amounts of PEG-PLA copolymer and employing incorporation of a PEG lipid (LipidPEG) into the shell. Loss of acoustic enhancement occurred in a dose-dependent manner for both types of PEGylated agents (loss of signal occurred at >5 wt% PEG-PLA and >1 wt% LipidPEG), while immune activation was also reduced in a dose dependent manner for the PEG-PLA agents. This study shows that the balance between acoustic behavior and improved immune avoidance was scalable and successful to different degrees with both PEGylation methods, and was best achieved using for PEG-PLA at 5 wt% and for LipidPEG at 1 wt%. Studies are ongoing to evaluate the best method for the targeting and drug delivery capabilities of these agents for applications in cancer treatment. This study represents the basis for understanding the consequences of making modifications to the native polymeric shell. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Details
- Title
- Balancing stealth and echogenic properties in an ultrasound contrast agent with drug delivery potential
- Creators
- Lauren J. Jablonowski - Drexel UniversityDavid Alfego - Drexel UniversityJames I. Andorko - Drexel UniversityJohn R. Eisenbrey - Thomas Jefferson UniversityNutte Teraphongphom - Drexel Univ, Sch Biomed Engn Sci & Hlth Syst, 3141 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USAMargaret A. Wheatley - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Biomaterials, v 103, pp 197-206
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- Society of Interventional Radiology
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000381592000018
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84977515986
- Other Identifier
- 991019168404504721
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InCites Highlights
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Engineering, Biomedical
- Materials Science, Biomaterials