SPECT/CT Imaging of Pluronic Nanocarriers with Varying Poly(ethylene oxide) Block Length and Aggregation State

Alexandra Arranja, Oleksandra Ivashchenko*, Antonia G. Denkova, Karolina Morawska, Sandra Van Vlierberghe, Peter Dubruel, Gilles Waton, Freek J. Beekman, François Schosseler, Eduardo Mendes

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)
98 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Optimal biodistribution and prolonged circulation of nanocarriers improve diagnostic and therapeutic effects of enhanced permeability and retention-based nanomedicines. Despite extensive use of Pluronics in polymer-based pharmaceuticals, the influence of different poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block length and aggregation state on the biodistribution of the carriers is rather unexplored. In this work, we studied these effects by evaluating the biodistribution of Pluronic unimers and cross-linked micelles with different PEO block size. In vivo biodistribution of 111In-radiolabeled Pluronic nanocarriers was investigated in healthy mice using single photon emission computed tomography. All carriers show fast uptake in the organs from the reticuloendothelial system followed by a steady elimination through the hepatobiliary tract and renal filtration. The PEO block length affects the initial renal clearance of the compounds and the overall liver uptake. The aggregation state influences the long-term accumulation of the nanocarriers in the liver. We showed that the circulation time and elimination pathways can be tuned by varying the physicochemical properties of Pluronic copolymers. Our results can be beneficial for the design of future Pluronic-based nanomedicines.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1158-1165
Number of pages8
JournalMolecular Pharmaceutics
Volume13
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Mar 2016

Bibliographical note

Version before revisions, but the revisions were minor.

Keywords

  • micelles
  • Pluronic
  • SPECT
  • unimers

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