Copper phosphate micro-flowers coated with indocyanine green and iron oxide nanoparticles for in vivo localization optoacoustic tomography and magnetic actuation

TL;DR

This paper presents copper phosphate micro-flowers coated with indocyanine green and iron oxide nanoparticles, enabling in vivo localization, tracking, and magnetic actuation for potential use in targeted drug delivery and microvascular imaging.

Contribution

The study introduces biocompatible copper phosphate micro-flowers with integrated nanoparticles for real-time in vivo tracking and magnetic control, advancing microrobot-based drug delivery.

Findings

Successful in vivo optoacoustic localization of micro-flowers.

Magnetic actuation demonstrated at a single-particle level.

Super-resolution imaging enabled microvascular target identification.

Abstract

Efficient drug delivery is a major challenge in modern medicine and pharmaceutical research. Micrometer-scale robots have recently been proposed as a promising venue to amplify precision of drug administration. Remotely controlled microrobots sufficiently small to navigate through microvascular networks can reach any part of the human body, yet real-time tracking is crucial for providing precise guidance and verifying successful arrival at the target. In vivo deep-tissue monitoring of individual microrobots is currently hampered by the lack of sensitivity and/or spatio-temporal resolution of commonly used clinical imaging modalities. We synthesized biocompatible and biodegradable copper phosphate micro-flowers loaded with indocyanine green and iron oxide nanoparticles to enable in vivo individual detection with localization optoacoustic tomography. We demonstrate magnetic actuation and optoacoustic tracking of these decorated micro-flowers at a per-particle level. Functional super-resolution imaging achieved via tracking intravenously injected particles provides a means of identifying microvascular targets and quantifying blood flow, while the versatile carrying capacity can be further exploited for transporting multiple types of drug formulations.