Fabrication of magnetic and fluorescent chitin and dibutyrylchitin sub-micron particles by oil-in-water emulsification.

Chitin is a carbohydrate polymer with unique pharmacological and immunological properties, however, because of its unwieldy chemistry, the synthesis of discreet sized sub-micron particles has not been well reported. This work describes a facile and flexible method to fabricate biocompatible chitin and dibutyrylchitin sub-micron particles. This technique is based on an oil-in-water emulsification/evaporation method and involves the hydrophobization of chitin by the addition of labile butyryl groups onto chitin, disrupting intermolecular hydrogen bonds and enabling solubility in the organic solvent used as the oil phase during fabrication. The subsequent removal of butyryl groups post-fabrication through alkaline saponification regenerates native chitin while keeping particles morphology intact. Examples of encapsulation of hydrophobic dyes and nanocrystals are demonstrated, specifically using iron oxide nanocrystals and coumarin 6. The prepared particles had diameters between 300-400nm for dibutyrylchitin and 500-600nm for chitin and were highly cytocompatible. Moreover, they were able to encapsulate high amounts of iron oxide nanocrystals and were able to label mammalian cells. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: We describe a technique to prepare sub-micron particles of highly acetylated chitin (>90%) and dibutyrylchitin and demonstrate their utility as carriers for imaging. Chitin is a polysaccharide capable of stimulating the immune system, a property that depends on the acetamide groups, but its insolubility limits its use. No method for sub-micron particle preparation with highly acetylated chitins have been published. The only approach for the preparation of sub-micron particles uses low acetylation chitins. Dibutyrylchitin, a soluble chitin derivative, was used to prepare particles by oil in water emulsification. Butyryl groups were then removed, forming chitin particles. These particles could be suitable for encapsulation of hydrophobic payloads for drug delivery and cell imaging, as well as, adjuvants for vaccines.

Clinically viable magnetic poly(lactide-co-glycolide) particles for MRI-based cell tracking.

PURPOSE: To design, fabricate, characterize, and in vivo assay clinically viable magnetic particles for MRI-based cell tracking. METHODS: Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) encapsulated magnetic nano and microparticles were fabricated. Multiple biologically relevant experiments were performed to assess cell viability, cellular performance, and stem cell differentiation. In vivo MRI experiments were performed to separately test cell transplantation and cell migration paradigms, as well as in vivo biodegradation. RESULTS: Highly magnetic nano (∼100 nm) and microparticles (∼1-2 µm) were fabricated. Magnetic cell labeling in culture occurred rapidly achieving 3-50 pg Fe/cell at 3 h for different particles types, and >100 pg Fe/cell after 10 h, without the requirement of a transfection agent, and with no effect on cell viability. The capability of magnetically labeled mesenchymal or neural stem cells to differentiate down multiple lineages, or for magnetically labeled immune cells to release cytokines following stimulation, was uncompromised. An in vivo biodegradation study revealed that NPs degraded ∼80% over the course of 12 weeks. MRI detected as few as 10 magnetically labeled cells, transplanted into the brains of rats. Also, these particles enabled the in vivo monitoring of endogenous neural progenitor cell migration in rat brains over 2 weeks. CONCLUSION: The robust MRI properties and benign safety profile of these particles make them promising candidates for clinical translation for MRI-based cell tracking.

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) encapsulated gadolinium oxide nanoparticles for MRI-based cell tracking.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide particles have proven useful for cell tracking applications by monitoring cell transplantation and migration in living organisms. However, one perceived drawback is that these particles cause dark contrast in MRI, sometimes yielding confusion with other biological phenomena, which also yield dark contrast. To that end, researchers have investigated the use of gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) based contrast agents for MRI-based cell tracking, as Gd2O3 has favorable r1 molar relaxivity. We synthesized Gd2O3 nanocrystals and encapsulated them within PLGA matrices to form approximatley to 150 nm nanoparticles. r1 was 1.9 mM(-1) sec(-1) and r2 was 8.4 mM(-1) sec(-1). Cell labeling with particles was well tolerated by cells except at very high doses. MRI of labeled cells showed that labeled cells could achieve both R1 and R2 enhancements due to the internalized particles. R2 enhancements were approximately to twice that of R1 enhancements suggesting the use of very short echo times when using Gd2O3 based contrast agents for MRI-based cell tracking.

Biocompatible and pH-sensitive PLGA encapsulated MnO nanocrystals for molecular and cellular MRI.

Inorganic manganese-based particles are becoming attractive for molecular and cellular imaging, due to their ability to provide bright contrast on MRI, as opposed to the dark contrast generated from iron-based particles. Using a single emulsion technique, we have successfully fabricated pH-sensitive poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-encapsulated manganese oxide (MnO) nanocrystals. Two classes of particles were fabricated at ∼140 nm and 1.7 µm and incorporated 15 to 20 nm MnO nanocrystals with high encapsulation efficiencies. Intact particles at physiological pH cause little contrast in MRI, but following endocytosis into low pH compartments within the cells, the particles erode and MnO dissolves to release Mn(2+). This causes the cells to appear bright on MR images. The magnitude of the change in MRI properties is as high as 35-fold, making it the most dynamic "smart" MRI contrast agent yet reported. Possible applications of these MnO particles include slow release Mn(2+), tumor targeting, and confirmation of cell uptake.

Magnetic poly(lactide-co-glycolide) and cellulose particles for MRI-based cell tracking.

Biodegradable, superparamagnetic microparticles and nanoparticles of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and cellulose were designed, fabricated, and characterized for magnetic cell labeling. Monodisperse nanocrystals of magnetite were incorporated into microparticles and nanoparticles of PLGA and cellulose with high efficiency using an oil-in-water single emulsion technique. Superparamagnetic cores had high magnetization (72.1 emu/g). The resulting polymeric particles had smooth surface morphology and high magnetite content (43.3 wt % for PLGA and 69.6 wt % for cellulose). While PLGA and cellulose nanoparticles displayed highest r 2* values per millimole of iron (399 sec(-1) mM(-1) for cellulose and 505 sec(-1) mM(-1) for PLGA), micron-sized PLGA particles had a much higher r 2* per particle than either. After incubation for a month in citrate buffer (pH 5.5), magnetic PLGA particles lost close to 50% of their initial r 2* molar relaxivity, while magnetic cellulose particles remained intact, preserving over 85% of their initial r 2* molar relaxivity. Lastly, mesenchymal stem cells and human breast adenocarcinoma cells were magnetically labeled using these particles with no detectable cytotoxicity. These particles are ideally suited for noninvasive cell tracking in vivo via MRI and due to their vastly different degradation properties, offer unique potential for dedicated use for either short (PLGA-based particles) or long-term (cellulose-based particles) experiments.

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanospheres and microspheres for short- and long-term delivery of bioactive ciliary neurotrophic factor.

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) has been shown to be neuroprotective in the central nervous system (CNS). However, systemic administration and bolus injections have shown significant side effects and limited efficacy. Sustained, local delivery may lead to effective neuroprotection and avoid or limit adverse side effects, but sustained CNTF delivery has proven difficult to achieve and control. For controlled, sustained delivery, we investigated several processing variables in making poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nano- and microspheres to optimize CNTF encapsulation and release. Nano- and microspheres were 314.9 +/- 24.9 nm and 11.69 +/- 8.16 microm in diameter, respectively. CNTF delivery from nanospheres was sustained over 14 days, and delivery from microspheres continued over more than 70 days. To assess protein bioactivity after encapsulation, neural stem cells (NSCs) were treated with CNTF released from nanospheres and compared to those treated with unencapsulated CNTF as a control. NSCs treated with CNTF expressed markers specific to mature cells, notably astrocytes; some increase in oligodendrocytic and neuronal marker expression was also observed. Significantly, cells treated with CNTF released by nanospheres exhibited a similar degree of differentiation when compared to those treated with control CNTF of equivalent concentration, showing that the process of protein encapsulation did not reduce its potency.