Abstract #3712

Characterization of USPIO Nanoparticles for Non Invasive Monitoring of Inflammation in Tissue Engineered Tissue Vascular Graft using In Vivo MRI

Halima Chahboune^1,2, Jamie Harrington³, Jason Criscione², Ragy Ragheb², Narutoshi Hibino³, Toshiharu Shinoka³, Christopher Breuer Breuer³, Tarek Fahmy⁴

¹Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; ²Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; ³Interdepartmental Program in Vascular Biology & Therapeutic, Yale University, New HAven, CT, United States; ⁴Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, United States

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive method potentially well suited for monitoring cells grafts to identify and map the fate of transplanted cells. This study reports the use of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticles to noninvasively monitor and map the fate of labeled macrophages seeded onto a biodegradable scaffold used as venous conduit. The results demonstrate that the seeded cells do not actually become incorporated into the neovessel, but instead are important for inciting an inflammatory remodeling process, through the recruitment of host cells, that is critical for the development of the neovessel.