Fluorocapsules for Improved Function, Immunoprotection, and Visualization of Cellular Therapeutics with MR, US, and CT Imaging

Abstract
Fluorocapsules provide simultaneous immunoprotection, enhancement of survival, and multimodality imaging of cellular therapeutics by using fluorine 19 MR, US, or CT imaging. PurposeTo develop novel immunoprotective alginate microcapsule formulations containing perfluorocarbons (PFCs) that may increase cell function, provide immunoprotection for xenografted cells, and simultaneously enable multimodality imaging.Materials and MethodsAll animal experiments were approved by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Cadaveric human islet cells were encapsulated with alginate, poly-l-lysine, and perfluorooctyl bromide (PFOB) or perfluoropolyether (PFPE). In vitro viability and the glucose-stimulation index for insulin were determined over the course of 2 weeks and analyzed by using a cross-sectional time series regression model. The sensitivity of multimodality (computed tomography [CT], ultrasonography [US], and fluorine 19 [19F] magnetic resonance [MR] imaging) detection was determined for fluorocapsules embedded in gel phantoms. C57BL/6 mice intraperitoneally receiving 6000 PFOB-labeled (n = 6) or 6000 PFPE-labeled (n = 6) islet-containing fluorocapsules and control mice i...