Photoacoustic Imaging of Embryonic Stem Cell‐Derived Cardiomyocytes in Living Hearts with Ultrasensitive Semiconducting Polymer Nanoparticles |
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| Authors: | Xulei Qin Haodong Chen Huaxiao Yang Haodi Wu Xin Zhao Huiyuan Wang Tony Chour Evgenios Neofytou Dan Ding Heike Daldrup‐Link Sarah C Heilshorn Kai Li Joseph C Wu |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA;2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA;3. State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, China;4. Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA;5. Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore;6. Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA |
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| Abstract: | Human embryonic stem cell‐derived cardiomyocytes (hESC‐CMs) have become promising tools to repair injured hearts. To achieve optimal outcomes, advanced molecular imaging methods are essential to accurately track these transplanted cells in the heart. In this study, it is demonstrated for the first time that a class of photoacoustic nanoparticles (PANPs) incorporating semiconducting polymers (SPs) as contrast agents can be used in the photoacoustic imaging (PAI) of transplanted hESC‐CMs in living mouse hearts. This is achieved by virtue of two benefits of PANPs. First, strong photoacoustic (PA) signals and specific spectral features of SPs allow PAI to sensitively detect and distinguish a small number of PANP‐labeled cells (2000) from background tissues. Second, the PANPs show a high efficiency for hESC‐CM labeling without adverse effects on cell structure, function, and gene expression. Assisted by ultrasound imaging, the delivery and engraftment of hESC‐CMs in living mouse hearts can be assessed by PANP‐based PAI with high spatial resolution (≈100 µm). In summary, this study explores and validates a novel application of SPs as a PA contrast agent to track labeled cells with high sensitivity and accuracy in vivo, highlighting the advantages of integrating PAI and PANPs to advance cardiac regenerative therapies. |
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| Keywords: | cardiac cell tracking cardiac regenerative therapy photoacoustic imaging semiconducting polymers |
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