Fluorescent Nanodiamond - Hyaluronate Conjugates for Molecular Imaging
발표자
()
초록
내용
Molecular imaging systems have been widely investigated for the diagnosis of liver diseases. Fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) are carbon based photostable and biocompatible materials as a promising molecular imaging contrast agent. Because FNDs have negatively charged nitrogen vacancy (NV-) centers, they emit red bright light. In this work, FNDs were conjugated to hyaluronate (HA), which is a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, and interacts with HA receptors in the liver. The biocompatibility of HA-FND conjugates was verified by the cell viability test. The liver-targeted delivery was confirmed by the cellular uptake test, in vivo imaging system (IVIS) analysis, and biodistribution test in organs. The fluorescent intensity of HA-FND conjugates in the liver was 1.4 times higher than that of FNDs. HA-FND conjugates appeared to be safe in vivo through histological analysis. All these results confirmed the feasibility of HA-FND conjugates as a contrast agent for liver diseases.