Behaviour of supramolecular assemblies of radiometal-filled and fluorescent carbon nano-capsules in vitro and in vivo

Journal article

Hybrid materials based on supramolecularly assembled single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are generated for positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging, and fluorescence imaging. The all-in-one imaging probe allows quantitative imaging from subcellular resolution to whole tissue regions. The SWNTs can be exposed to aqueous solutions of non-radioactive and radioactive metal salts in the presence of fullerenes and b-D-glucan. Encapsulating 64Cu ions achieves a minimum of 69% incorporation of radiochemical. The results suggest that this method can be extended to other metal ions of medical relevance, such as zirconium(IV)-89 or rhenium(VII)-188, which are used for medical imaging or radiotherapy, respectively. The in vivo uptake of 64Cu(II)@SWNT@glucan in Wistar rats allows the investigation of organ biodistribution by microPET. Radioactivity rapidly accumulates predominantly in the lungs and myocardium with peak uptakes of 4.8 G 0.9 standardized uptake value. Furthermore, such materials are fully traceable in cells by multiphoton fluorescence lifetime imaging with near-infrared excitation (910 nm).

Authors: Ge, H; Riss, P; Mirabello, V; Calatayud, D; Flower, S

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Cell Press
• Journal: Chem
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 437-460
• Publication date: 2017-08-31
• Acceptance date: 2017-06-20
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2017.06.013
• ISSN: 2451-9294
• Keywords: directed and self-assembly; supramolecular chemistry; fluorescence microscopy; nano-radiochemistry; positron emission tomography; carbon nanotubes; nanohybrid materials; copper-64