Abstract #0422

Development of CEST Liposomes for Monitoring Nanoparticle-Based Cancer Therapies

Kannie W.Y. Chan¹,², Tao Yu³,⁴, Yuan Qiao⁵, Guanshu Liu¹,⁶, Ming Yang⁴, Jeff W.M. Bulte,²⁷, Peter C.M. van Zijl¹,⁶, Justin S. Hanes³, Michael T. McMahon¹,⁶

¹Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ²Cellular Imaging Section and Vascular Biology Program, Institute for Cell Engineering, Baltimore, MD, United States; ³Center for Nanomedicine, The Wilmer Eye Institute, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁴Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁵The Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁶F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁷Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States

Nanoparticle-based local drug treatment has potential for chemotherapy for cancers, but there is a need for real time in vivo imaging of the particle delivery to monitor therapeutic efficacy. We used Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST), a molecular MRI contrast mechanism, to monitor the delivery of liposomes loaded with both a diaCEST agent (barbituric acid) with a resonance at 5.0 ppm from water) and drug (Doxorubicin) to colon tumors. The CEST contrast was used to image the spatial distribution of the particles after administration and over a period of 24-h in vivo.