Dual-Modality Molecular Imaging of Tumor via Quantum Dots-Liposome–Microbubble Complexes
Jieqiong Wang,
Yuanyuan Wang,
Jie Jia,
Chenxing Liu,
Dong Ni,
Litao Sun,
Zhijie Guo
Affiliations
Jieqiong Wang
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 201206, China
Yuanyuan Wang
Center for Cell and Gene Circuit Design, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
Jie Jia
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 201206, China
Chenxing Liu
Center for Cell and Gene Circuit Design, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
Dong Ni
Medical Ultrasound Image Computing (MUSIC) Laboratory, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518055, China
Litao Sun
Department of Ultrasound Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Hangzhou Medical College Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou 310014, China
Zhijie Guo
Department of Ultrasound, Shenzhen Bao’an Chinese Medicine Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen 518133, China
Molecular imaging has demonstrated promise for evaluating the expression levels of biomarkers for the early prediction of tumor progression and metastasis. However, most of the commonly used molecular imaging modalities are relatively single and have difficulties imaging complex biological processes. Here, we fabricated αvβ3-integrin-targeted quantum-dots-loaded liposome–microbubble (iRGD-QDLM) complexes that combined ultrasound imaging with optical imaging. The resulting iRGD-QDLM has excellent binding capability to 4T1 breast cancer cells. Ultrasound molecular imaging of 4T1 tumors demonstrated that significantly enhanced ultrasound molecular signals could be observed in comparison with non-targeted QDLM. Importantly, our study also suggested that iRGD-QDL on the surface of microbubbles could be delivered into a tumor by ultrasound-mediated microbubble destruction and adhered to αvβ3 integrin on breast cancer cells, achieving transvascular fluorescent imaging. Our study provides a novel approach to dual-modality molecular imaging of αvβ3 integrin in the tumor tissue.
