Multifunctional Perfluorocarbon Nanoemulsions for Cancer Therapy and Imaging

Nanoemulsions have been used as theranostic agents for both imaging cancer and therapy by the ability of perfluorocarbon nanoemulsions to vaporize. However, many of the current imaging contrast agents are not stable enough to be used for long term monitoring of tumor growth/regression during therapy. The current work uses biocompatible perfluorohexane nanoemulsions (PFH-NEs) with silica coated gold nanoparticles (scAuNPs) (PFH-NEs-scAuNPs) that can be used to enhance both the photoacoustic (PA) as well as the nonlinear ultrasound (NL US) signals from the resulting PFH bubbles formed from laser excitation. Results show the ability of PFH-NEs-scAuNPs to be used for imaging of cancer using various imaging platforms (i.e., photoacoustic, nonlinear ultrasound, fluorescence) as well as for destroying cancer cells through vaporization of PFH-NEs. Compared to other conventional PA and NL US contrast agents, the signals from PFH-NEs-scAuNPs are more stable with the added benefit that they can be used effectively to treat different tumors through efficient encapsulation of different therapeutic agents and vaporization. In vivo results show that the signals from PFH-NEs and PFH bubbles are stable for several days where the nanoparticles can be used for their theranostic ability to efficiently localize and treat cancer, serving to improve outcomes in cancer and showing strong potential for clinical applications.