Experimental study on preparation and targeting in vitro of nanobubbles with two-fold amount of folate / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the selective targeting ability of a novel folate-modified nanobubbles with two-fold amount of folate [(FOL)2-NBs] . Methods DSPE-PEG2000-AD-(FOL)2with two-fold of folate per DSPE-PEG2000 chain was synthesized and then tested by 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) . The novel (FOL)2-NBs was prepared using the mechanical shaking method based on lipid-stabilized perfluoropropane . The bubble size was measured by Malvern laser particle size analyzer and the contrast enhancement ability was also detected with imaging machine using a self-made agarose mold . The experiment of selective targeting ability was also carried out in human breast cancer MCF-7 cell with over-expression of folate receptor ( FR) using fluorescence activated cell sorting ( FACS) . Results The result of 1H NMR proved that DSPE-PEG2000-AD-( FOL )2was successfully synthesized ,and the purity reached up to 90% . The novel prepared ( FOL) 2-NBs showed superior contrast enhancement ability with a particle size of ( 286 .87 ± 22 .96) nm . Compared with the conventional NBs ,the novel ( FOL) 2-NBs exhibited improved selective cellular targeting ability proven by FACS . Conclusions A novel nanobubble with improved selective targeting ability is successfully prepared and shows great potential in extravascular imaging and curation in FR overexpressed tumors .