Polyvinyl alcohol-based microbubbles as a multifunctional tool for theranostics

Abstract

Diagnosing pathological changes in the body at the earliest stages of disease has stimulated the development of medical imaging technologies. Ultrasound, photoacoustic and fluorescence imaging are already successfully used in clinical practice. Multimodal imaging requires a combination of strategies to achieve a synergistic effect and increase the resolution of the examination. This type of examination has now become one of the priority areas for detailed pathological analysis. Another way to increase imaging efficiency is the use of contrast agents. For ultrasound imaging, microbubble-based agents are used as contrast agents due to the wide variability in the choice of microbubble shell material and the variety of methods for its modification with different functional groups and molecules, as well as nanoparticles. The development of theranostics has also given a new impetus to microbubbles. The development of new materials - contrast agents - is an important task in modern biochemistry.
In this paper we describe the methodology developed for the production of gas-filled microbubbles with a shell of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a synthetic biocompatible polymer. An important feature of PVA microbubbles is their physical and chemical stability, which allows them to be stored for months at room temperature, much longer than other existing microbubbles. The methodology of microbubble production is based on the reaction of mild oxidation of PVA during stirring and further cross-linking
The production of PVA-based microbubbles opens up new perspectives for the potential use of such systems as drug delivery agents, where pharmacologically active molecules can be loaded into the microbubble formation process and released into the bloodstream under the influence of the ultrasound field.

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Speaker

Kalinichenko Galina Leonidovna
Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology
Russia

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