Hard-Shelled Glycol Chitosan Nanoparticles for Dual MRI/US Detection of Drug Delivery/Release: A Proof-of-Concept Study

This paper describes a novel nanoformulation for dual MRI/US in vivo monitoring of drug delivery/release. The nanosystem was made of a perfluoropentane core coated with phospholipids stabilized by glycol chitosan crosslinked with triphosphate ions, and it was co-loaded with the prodrug prednisolone phosphate (PLP) and the structurally similar MRI agent Gd-DTPAMA-CHOL. Importantly, the in vitro release of PLP and Gd-DTPAMA-CHOL from the nanocarrier showed similar profiles, validating the potential impact of the MRI agent as an imaging reporter for the drug release. On the other hand, the nanobubbles were also detectable by US imaging both in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, the temporal evolution of both MRI and US contrast after the administration of the proposed nanosystem could report on the delivery and the release kinetics of the transported drug in a given lesion.

Automated summary

This paper presents a new nanoformulation for dual MRI/US in vivo monitoring of drug delivery/release. The nanosystem consists of a perfluoropentane core coated with phospholipids stabilized by glycol chitosan crosslinked with triphosphate ions, and is co-loaded with the prodrug prednisolone phosphate (PLP) and the structurally similar MRI agent Gd-DTPAMA-CHOL. In vitro release experiments demonstrate similar profiles for PLP and Gd-DTPAMA-CHOL, validating the MRI agent as an imaging reporter for drug release. Additionally, the nanobubbles can be detected by US imaging both in vitro and in vivo. Thus, the temporal evolution of both MRI and US contrast can provide information on the delivery and release kinetics of the transported drug in a specific lesion.