In vivo optical imaging enabled by soft-matter analogs of the quantum dots

ORGN 39

P. Peter Ghoroghchian, ppg@mail.med.upenn.edu1, Paul R. Frail, pfrail@sas.upenn.edu2, Kimihiro Susumu2, Gui Zhi Li2, Wei Qi2, Timothy V. Duncan, tduncan@sas.upenn.edu2, Louise E. Sinks2, Daniel A. Hammer1, and Michael J. Therien, therien@sas.upenn.edu2. (1) Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, 120 Hayden Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (2) Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 231 South 34th St., Philadelphia, PA 19104-6323
Formed through cooperative self-assembly of amphiphilic diblock copolymers and electronically conjugated porphyrinic near infrared (NIR) fluorophores, NIR-emissive polymersomes (50 nm – 50 um polymer vesicles) define a family of organic-based, soft matter quantum dot analogues that are ideally suited for in vivo optical imaging. We show that membrane incorporation of a wide range of related multi-porphyrinic fluorophores enables emission energy modulation over a broad domain of the visible and near infrared spectrum (600-950 nm). Long-wavelength optical excitation of such assemblies generates intense, highly localized emissive signals capable of penetrating through the dense tumor tissue of live animals. New nanoscale polymersomal vesicles in which the component amphiphilic diblock polymers are derived from two previously FDA-approved building blocks have been delineated, providing for fully bioresorbable probes. Excited-state transient dynamical studies provide insights into how NIR-emissive polymersomes can be further optimized for in vivo deep-tissue fluorescence-based imaging.

 

James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry
1:05 PM-5:00 PM, Sunday, 26 March 2006 Georgia World Congress Center -- Georgia Ballroom 2, Oral

Division of Organic Chemistry

The 231st ACS National Meeting, Atlanta, GA, March 26-30, 2006