Muldimodal imaging for cell tracking: Bench to Bedside (and back)
Mangala Srinivas
Wageningen Universtiy and Research (WUR), and Cenya Imaging BV
Abstract
I will discuss the scientific path that led to our polymer-entrapped perfluorocarbon nanoparticles that were originally developed for 19F MRI, but now are also applied to ultrasound, photoacoustic and nuclear imaging. We are working on these nanoparticles to label and image therapeutic cells, such as dendritic cells or engineered T cells in vivo, in a longitudinal and quantitative manner. This information is vital to the optimisation of cell therapies. We also carried out microscopy, including EM, to localise the particles within cells.
Here, I will discuss what we have learned about the internal structure of the nanoparticles, where the super-hydrophobic perfluorocarbon appears hydrated, and how this unusual structure impacts its biological properties. Importantly, the unusual multi-core structure of the nanoparticles has biological impact; we found that the 200 nm particles break down into smaller domains where the perfluorocarbon remains stabilized and results in 15x faster clearance in vivo, compared to core-shell particles.I will also discuss, briefly, the need for cell tracking.
The nanoparticles are approved for a clinical trial in melanoma patients.