Long-Term, Noninvasive In Vivo Tracking of Progenitor Cells Using Multimodality Photoacoustic, Optical Coherence Tomography, and Fluorescence Imaging

Abstract

Stem cell regenerative medicine therapies have emerged as promising treatments for currently incurable diseases. A remaining challenge for cell therapies is the ability to track the migration and distribution of the transplanted cells in a long-term, noninvasive manner in vivo to assess their efficacy. This study develops a noninvasive, and high spatial resolution photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging system for in vivo tracking of subretinally injected progenitor human retinal pigment epithelium cells (ARPE-19) labeled with chainlike gold nanoparticle (CGNP) clusters in RPE damage. CGNP provided significant PAM, OCT, and fluorescence signals to selectively track the migration of ARPE-19 cells in living rabbit eyes for 3 months. PAM and OCT imaging allow accurate anatomical information to determine the exact retinal layer in which the transplanted ARPE-19 cells are located which was confirmed by histology. This presents an efficient and advanced technology to visualize fundamental biological processes of cell therapies in complex in vivo environments in real time.

A lipid nanoparticle platform for mRNA delivery through repurposing of cationic amphiphilic drugs

“…Given the high mRNA delivery efficiency of CADosomes in PBCECs, we next aimed to investigate mRNA delivery in an in vivo rabbit eye model [ [62] , [63] , [64] ]. Many ophthalmic diseases, such as trauma and dry eyes, are due to malfunctions at the level of the cornea, leading to severe visual impairment.…”

Fluorescence, ultrasonic and photoacoustic imaging for analysis and diagnosis of diseases

“…To date, various kinds of strategies have been developed to design multi-functional gold nanoclusters or nanoaggregates, enabling the possibility of enhanced photoacoustic imaging. [177][178][179][180][181][182][183] Xu et al presented a simple and versatile approach, combined with emulsion-templated and polymer-guided assembly, to fabricate a series of tuneable gold patterns. 184 The developed gold nanoaggregates are useful for imaging-guided cancer therapy, owing to their longer residence time in tumors.…”

Renally Clearable Ultraminiature Chain‐Like Gold Nanoparticle Clusters for Multimodal Molecular Imaging of Choroidal Neovascularization

“…Advanced non-invasive photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging have attracted significant attention as promising techniques to evaluate disease DOI: 10.1002/adma.202302069 pathogenesis, such as cancer and angiogenesis, and treatments, such as stem cell therapy. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The PAM and OCT signals are generated from the optical absorption and the optical scattering properties of the biological tissues, respectively, which can provide both anatomical and functional information. Most living organism tissues show low endogenous absorption and scattering of light in the red and near-infrared (R/NIR) spectrum (i.e., 600-1200 nm) which serves as an "optical window" for PAM and OCTbased molecular imaging powered by exogenous contrast agents.…”

“…As a first step toward overcoming such limitations, we recently developed a chain-like gold nanoparticle cluster (GNC) via a method of self-assembly of 20-nm GNPs fabricated by physical method using pulsed laser ablation (PLA). [5,6,15] The PLA technique was developed to assist with biomedical translation since it is a pure method lacking the toxic chemicals used in wet-chemical synthesis. PLA utilizes sterile deionized water and produces stable, nontoxic, and capping-agent-free GNP monomers with high purity.…”