Projects per year
Abstract
The key challenge for in vivo biosensing is to design biomarker-responsive contrast agents that can be readily detected and monitored by broadly available biomedical imaging modalities. While a range of biosensors have been designed for optical, photoacoustic, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modalities, technical challenges have hindered the development of ultrasound biosensors, even though ultrasound is widely available, portable, safe, and capable of both surface and deep tissue imaging. Typically, contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging is generated by gas-filled microbubbles. However, they suffer from short imaging times because of the diffusion of the gas into the surrounding media. This demands an alternate approach to generate nanosensors that reveal pH-specific changes in ultrasound contrast in biological environments. Silica cores were coated with pH-responsive poly(methacrylic acid) (PMASH) in a layer-by-layer (LbL) approach and subsequently covered in a porous organosilica shell. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) were employed to monitor the successful fabrication of multilayered particles and prove the pH-dependent shrinkage/swelling of the PMASH layer. This demonstrates that reduction in pH below healthy physiological levels resulted in significant increases in ultrasound contrast, in gel phantoms, mouse cadaver tissue, and live mice. The future of such materials could be developed into a platform of biomarker-responsive ultrasound contrast agents for clinical applications.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1190-1197 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | ACS Sensors |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 24 Apr 2020 |
Keywords
- biosensor
- layer-by-layer
- mouse
- nanosensor
- organosilica
- pH
- silica
- ultrasound
Projects
- 1 Finished
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ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology
Davis, T., Boyd, B., Bunnett, N., Porter, C., Caruso, F., Kent, S., Thordarson, P., Kearnes, M., Gooding, J., Kavallaris, M., Thurecht, K., Whittaker, A. K., Parton, R., Corrie, S. R., Johnston, A., McGhee, J., Greguric, I. D., Stevens, M. M., Lewis, J. S., Lee, D. S., Alexander, C., Dawson, K., Hawker, C., Haddleton, D., Thierry, B., Prestidge, C. A., Meyer, A., Jones-Jayasinghe, N., Voelcker, N., Nann, T. & McLean, K.
Australian Research Council (ARC), Monash University, University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales (UNSW), University of Queensland , University of South Australia, Monash University – Internal Faculty Contribution, University of Wisconsin Madison, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, University of California System, University College Dublin, Imperial College London, University of Warwick, Sungkyunkwan University, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) , University of Nottingham
30/06/14 → 29/06/21
Project: Research