Integrated processing of contrast pulse sequencing ultrasound imaging for enhanced active contrast of hollow gas filled silica nanoshells and microshells

Indocyanine green modified silica shells for colon tumor marking

Marking colon tumors for surgery is normally done with the use of India ink. However, non-fluorescent dyes such as India ink cannot be imaged below the tissue surface and there is evidence for physiological complications such as abscess, intestinal perforation and inconsistency of dye injection. A novel infrared marker was developed using FDA approved indocyanine green (ICG) dye and ultrathin hollow silica nanoshells (ICG/HSS). Using a positively charged amine linker, ICG was non-covalently adsorbed onto the nanoparticle surface. For ultra-thin wall 100 nm diameter silica shells, a bimodal ICG layer of < 3 nm is was formed. Conversely, for thicker walls on 2 μm diameter silica shells, the ICG layer was only bound to the outer surface and was 6 nm thick. In vitro testing of fluorescent emission showed the particles with the thinner coating were considerably more efficient, which is consistent with self-quenching reducing emission shown in the thicker ICG coatings. Ex-vivo testing showed that ICG bound to the 100 nm hollow silica shells was visible even under 1.5 cm of tissue. In vivo experiments showed that there was no diffusion of the ICG/nanoparticle marker in tissue and it remained imageable for as long as 12 days.

Silica Shells/Adhesive Composite Film for Color Doppler Ultrasound Guided Needle Placement

Ultrasound (US) guided medical devices placement is a widely used clinical technology, yet many factors affect the visualization of these devices in the human body. In this research, an ultrasound-activated film was developed that can be coated on the surface of medical devices. The film contains 2 μm silica microshells and poly(methyl 2-cyanoacrylate) (PMCA) adhesive. The air sealed in the hollow space of the microshells acted as the US contrast agent. Ozone and perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFO) were used to treat the surface of the film to enhance the US signals and provide durable antifouling properties for multiple passes through tissue, consistent with the dual oleophobic and hydrophobic nature of PFO. In vitro and in vivo tests showed that hypodermic needles and tumor marking wires coated with US activated film gave strong and persistent color Doppler signals. This technology can significantly improve the visibility of medical devices and the accuracy of US guided medical device placement.

Ultrasound Responsive Macrophase-Segregated Microcomposite Films for in Vivo Biosensing

Ultrasound imaging is a safe, low-cost, and in situ method for detecting in vivo medical devices. A poly(methyl-2-cyanoacrylate) film containing 2 μm boron-doped, calcined, porous silica microshells was developed as an ultrasound imaging marker for multiple medical devices. A macrophase separation drove the gas-filled porous silica microshells to the top surface of the polymer film by controlled curing of the cyanoacrylate glue and the amount of microshell loading. A thin film of polymer blocked the wall pores of the microshells to seal air in their hollow core, which served as an ultrasound contrast agent. The ultrasound activity disappeared when curing conditions were modified to prevent the macrophase segregation. Phase segregated films were attached to multiple surgical tools and needles and gave strong color Doppler signals in vitro and in vivo with the use of a clinical ultrasound imaging instrument. Postprocessing of the simultaneous color Doppler and B-mode images can be used for autonomous identification of implanted surgical items by correlating the two images. The thin films were also hydrophobic, thereby extending the lifetime of ultrasound signals to hours of imaging in tissues by preventing liquid penetration. This technology can be used as a coating to guide the placement of implantable medical devices or used to image and help remove retained surgical items.

Nanosized Ultrasound Enhanced-Contrast Agent for in Vivo Tumor Imaging via Intravenous Injection

To enhance the detection limit of ultrasound (US) imaging, ultrasound enhanced-contrast agents (UECAs) that can go preferentially to the target tissue such as a tumor and amplify the US signal have been developed. However, nanosized UECAs among various UECAs developed are very limited to clearly demonstrate proper ability for selective tumor detection by US imaging upon their intravenous injection. In this study, we prepared CaCO3 nanoparticles that were formed inside a flexible and biocompatible pluronic-based nanocarrier. This nanosized UECA was stable in serum-containing media and generated CO2, more preferentially at low pH; thus, it could be detected by US imaging. After intravenous injection into tumor-bearing mice, this nanosized UECA showed a significant US contrast enhancement at the tumor site in 1 h, in contrast to no change in the liver, followed by a rapid clearance from the body in 24 h. Therefore, the present nanosized UECA could be applied as an effective diagnostic modality for in vivo tumor imaging by ultrasonography.

Evolution of contrast agents for ultrasound imaging and ultrasound-mediated drug delivery

Ultrasound (US) is one of the most frequently used diagnostic methods. It is a non-invasive, comparably inexpensive imaging method with a broad spectrum of applications, which can be increased even more by using bubbles as contrast agents (CAs). There are various different types of bubbles: filled with different gases, composed of soft- or hard-shell materials, and ranging in size from nano- to micrometers. These intravascular CAs enable functional analyses, e.g., to acquire organ perfusion in real-time. Molecular analyses are achieved by coupling specific ligands to the bubbles' shell, which bind to marker molecules in the area of interest. Bubbles can also be loaded with or attached to drugs, peptides or genes and can be destroyed by US pulses to locally release the entrapped agent. Recent studies show that US CAs are also valuable tools in hyperthermia-induced ablation therapy of tumors, or can increase cellular uptake of locally released drugs by enhancing membrane permeability. This review summarizes important steps in the development of US CAs and introduces the current clinical applications of contrast-enhanced US. Additionally, an overview of the recent developments in US probe design for functional and molecular diagnosis as well as for drug delivery is given.

Mechanically Tunable Hollow Silica Ultrathin Nanoshells for Ultrasound Contrast Agents

Perfluoropentane (PFP) gas filled biodegradable iron-doped silica nanoshells have been demonstrated as long-lived ultrasound contrast agents. Nanoshells are synthesized by a sol-gel process with tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) and iron ethoxide. Substituting a fraction of the TMOS with R-substituted trialkoxysilanes produces ultrathin nanoshells with varying shell thicknesses and morphologies composed of fused nanoflakes. The ultrathin nanoshells had continuous ultrasound Doppler imaging lifetimes exceeding 3 hours, were twice as bright using contrast specific imaging, and had decreased pressure thresholds compared to control nanoshells synthesized with just TMOS. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the R-group substituted trialkoxysilanes could reduce the mechanically critical nanoshell layer to 1.4 nm. These ultrathin nanoshells have the mechanical behavior of weakly linked nanoflakes but the chemical stability of silica. The synthesis can be adapted for general fabrication of three-dimensional nanostructures composed of nanoflakes, which have thicknesses from 1.4-3.8 nm and diameters from 2-23 nm.

Sol-gel synthesis and electrospraying of biodegradable (P2O5)55-(CaO)30-(Na2O)15 glass nanospheres as a transient contrast agent for ultrasound stem cell imaging

Ultrasound imaging is a powerful tool in medicine because of the millisecond temporal resolution and submillimeter spatial resolution of acoustic imaging. However, the current generation of acoustic contrast agents is primarily limited to vascular targets due to their large size. Nanosize particles have the potential to be used as a contrast agent for ultrasound molecular imaging. Silica-based nanoparticles have shown promise here; however, their slow degradation rate may limit their applications as a contrast agent. Phosphate-based glasses are an attractive alternative with controllable degradation rate and easily metabolized degradation components in the body. In this study, biodegradable P2O5-CaO-Na2O phosphate-based glass nanospheres (PGNs) were synthesized and characterized as contrast agents for ultrasound imaging. The structure of the PGNs was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), (31)P magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance ((31)P MAS NMR), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The SEM images indicated a spherical shape with a diameter size range of 200-500 nm. The XRD, (31)P NMR, and FTIR results revealed the amorphous and glassy nature of PGNs that consisted of mainly Q(1) and Q(2) phosphate units. We used this contrast to label mesenchymal stem cells and determined in vitro and in vivo detection limits of 5 and 9 μg/mL, respectively. Cell counts down to 4000 could be measured with ultrasound imaging with no cytoxicity at doses needed for imaging. Importantly, ion-release studies confirmed these PGNs biodegrade into aqueous media with degradation products that can be easily metabolized in the body.

Synthesis and surface functionalization of silica nanoparticles for nanomedicine

There are a wide variety of silica nanoformulations being investigated for biomedical applications. Silica nanoparticles can be produced using a wide variety of synthetic techniques with precise control over their physical and chemical characteristics. Inorganic nanoformulations are often criticized or neglected for their poor tolerance; however, extensive studies into silica nanoparticle biodistributions and toxicology have shown that silica nanoparticles may be well tolerated, and in some case are excreted or are biodegradable. Robust synthetic techniques have allowed silica nanoparticles to be developed for applications such as biomedical imaging contrast agents, ablative therapy sensitizers, and drug delivery vehicles. This review explores the synthetic techniques used to create and modify an assortment of silica nanoformulations, as well as several of the diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Hollow iron-silica nanoshells for enhanced high intensity focused ultrasound

BACKGROUND

High intensity-focused ultrasound (HIFU) is an alterative ablative technique currently being investigated for local treatment of breast cancer and fibroadenomas. Current HIFU therapies require concurrent magnetic resonance imaging monitoring. Biodegradable 500 nm perfluoropentane-filled iron-silica nanoshells have been synthesized as a sensitizing agent for HIFU therapies, which aid both mechanical and thermal ablation of tissues. In low duty cycle high-intensity applications, rapid tissue damage occurs from mechanical rather than thermal effects, which can be monitored closely by ultrasound obviating the need for concurrent magnetic resonance imaging.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Iron-silica nanoshells were synthesized by a sol-gel method on polystyrene templates and calcined to yield hollow nanoshells. The nanoshells were filled with perfluoropentane and injected directly into excised human breast tumor, and intravenously (IV) into healthy rabbits and Py8119 tumor-bearing athymic nude mice. HIFU was applied at 1.1 MHz and 3.5 MPa at a 2% duty cycle to achieve mechanical ablation.

RESULTS

Ex vivo in excised rabbit livers, the time to visually observable damage with HIFU was 20 s without nanoshells and only 2 s with nanoshells administered IV before sacrifice. Nanoshells administered IV into nude mice with xenograft tumors were activated in vivo by HIFU 24 h after administration. In this xenograft model, applied HIFU resulted in a 13.6 ± 6.1 mm(3) bubble cloud with the IV injected particles and no bubble cloud without particles.

CONCLUSIONS

Iron-silica nanoshells can reduce the power and time to perform HIFU ablative therapy and can be monitored by ultrasound during low duty cycle operation.

Color Doppler ultrasound and gamma imaging of intratumorally injected 500 nm iron-silica nanoshells

Perfluoropentane gas filled iron-silica nanoshells have been developed as stationary ultrasound contrast agents for marking tumors to guide surgical resection. It is critical to establish their long-term imaging efficacy, as well as biodistribution. This work shows that 500 nm Fe-SiO2 nanoshells can be imaged by color Doppler ultrasound over the course of 10 days in Py8119 tumor bearing mice. The 500 nm nonbiodegradable SiO2 and biodegradable Fe-SiO2 nanoshells were functionalized with diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) ligand and radiolabeled with (111)In(3+) for biodistribution studies in nu/nu mice. The majority of radioactivity was detected in the liver and kidneys following intravenous (IV) administration of nanoshells to healthy animals. By contrast, after nanoshells were injected intratumorally, most of the radioactivity remained at the injection site; however, some nanoshells escaped into circulation and were distributed similarly as those given intravenously. For intratumoral delivery of nanoshells and IV delivery to healthy animals, little difference was seen between the biodistribution of SiO2 and biodegradable Fe-SiO2 nanoshells. However, when nanoshells were administered IV to tumor bearing mice, a significant increase was observed in liver accumulation of SiO2 nanoshells relative to biodegradable Fe-SiO2 nanoshells. Both SiO2 and Fe-SiO2 nanoshells accumulate passively in proportion to tumor mass, during intravenous delivery of nanoshells. This is the first report of the biodistribution following intratumoral injection of any biodegradable silica particle, as well as the first report demonstrating the utility of DTPA-(111)In labeling for studying silica nanoparticle biodistributions.