<p>Biodistribution and sensitive tracking of immune cells with plasmonic gold nanostars</p>

Abstract

Aim: To quantitatively and sensitively investigate the biodistribution of immune cells after systemic administration. Methods: Immune cells were loaded with plasmonic gold nanostars (GNS) tracking probes. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used for quantitative gold mass measurement and two-photon photoluminescence (TPL) was used for high-resolution sensitive optical imaging. Results: GNS nanoparticles were loaded successfully into immune cells without negative effect on cellular vitality. Liver and spleen were identified to be the major organs for macrophage cells uptake after systematic administration. A small amount of macrophage cells were detected in the tumor site in our murine lymphoma animal model. Conclusion: GNS has great potential as a biocompatible marker for quantitative tracking and high-resolution imaging of immune cells at the cellular level.

Targeting of Hepatic Macrophages by Therapeutic Nanoparticles

“…As an example, plasmonic gold nanostars (GNS) were incorporated into immune system cells such as dendritic cells or macrophages obtained from bone marrow in order to investigate the biodistribution of these types of cells in a murine lymphoma model (102). Figure 4 shows biodistribution in organs and tissues at different times in mice after IV administration of GNS-labeled macrophage cells.…”

“…Figure 4 shows biodistribution in organs and tissues at different times in mice after IV administration of GNS-labeled macrophage cells. The quantification of gold in the different tissues was performed using an ICP-MS technique (102).…”

“…As shown in Figure 4, after IV administration of GNSlabeled macrophage cells, a specific distribution of this cellbased nanosystem preferably in the spleen, liver, and lung was observed, indicating that these organs had high macrophage cell accumulation. This type of cell-based delivery system presents interesting applications for cell-tracking studies (102).…”

“…Biodistribution of GNS-labeled macrophage cells at different times after IV administration in mice(102). International Journal of Nanomedicine.…”

Live Cell Poration by Au Nanostars to Probe Intracellular Molecular Composition with SERS

“…Nanostars adsorbed on polymers were used as an optoporating systems allowing to introduce vectors encoding fluorescent proteins directly into the living cells [37]. The ability of nanostars to internalize into cells has been used to generate an enhanced two-photon photoluminescence signal to enable cell tracking [38]. Another interesting Au nanostars application is developing planar SERS substrates using different polymer layers on either a glass or silicon wafer [28,30], with which good sensitivity has already been demonstrated with simple, pure chemical analytes such as 4-aminothiophenol.…”