Quantitative Molecular Imaging of Atherosclerotic Endothelial Dysfunction with Perfluorocarbon (19F) Nanoparticle Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy

Lei Zhang¹, Huiying Zhang¹, Kristin Bibee¹, Stacy Allen¹, Junjie Chen¹, Gregory M. Lanza¹, Samuel A. Wickline¹

Disturbed endothelial barrier function in atherosclerosis has been detected by MRI by imaging gadolinium leakage into the vascular interstitium but not yet quantified. Alternatively, we propose that the unique, no background 19F signal from crown ether perfluorocarbon-core nanoparticles (NP: ~250 nm) might both visualize and quantify endothelial disruption in advanced atherosclerosis.For both advanced experimental atherosclerosis and native human atherosclerosis tissues, nontargeted NP rapidly penetrate the leaky endothelial barrier, which can be visualized and quantified ex vivo with the use of no background 19F MRI and MRS. This experimental strategy offers a potential new approach for quantification of endothelial dysfunction employing both in vivo and ex vivo incubation with nanoparticle tracers.