Hengte Ke et al 2009 Nanotechnology 20 425105 doi:10.1088/0957-4484/20/42/425105
Hengte Ke1, Zhanwen Xing1, Bo Zhao2, Jinrui Wang2,5, Jibin Liu3,5, Caixin Guo1, Xiuli Yue1, Shaoqin Liu1, Zhiyong Tang4 and Zhifei Dai1,5
Show affiliationsThe aim of this paper was to develop a novel bi-mode ultrasound/fluorescent imaging agent through stepwise layer-by-layer deposition of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and CdTe quantum dots (QDs) onto ST68 microbubbles (MBs) produced by sonication of a mixture of surfactants (Span 60 and Tween 80). The experiments using photoluminescence spectroscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed that CdTe nanoparticles were successfully adsorbed on the outer surface of the MBs. The static light scattering measurements showed that size distributions of MBs before and after QD deposition met the size requirements for clinical application. The in vitro and in vivo ultrasonography indicated that the QD-modified MBs maintained good contrast enhancement properties as the original MBs. Furthermore, the in vitro ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) experiment of the QD–MB composites was carried out to validate the ability of MBs to deliver QDs for fluorescent imaging. The results showed that the QD-modified MBs not only maintained the capability of ultrasound imaging, but also could be used as a targeted-drug controlled-release system to deliver the QDs for cell and tissue fluorescent imaging by UTMD. The novel dual-functional imaging agent has potential for a variety of biological and medical applications.
Issue 42 (21 October 2009)
Received 16 May 2009, in final form 22 August 2009
Published 25 September 2009
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