Multi-mode Mass Spectrometric Imaging of Nanoparticle Stability

在化学系化学测量和成像计划的支持下，马萨诸塞大学的瓦谢和罗特洛教授及其团队将开发一种新的基于质谱学的成像方法，以跟踪生物样品中的纳米材料。纳米颗粒越来越多地应用于药物输送、传感、成像和治疗等领域。在所有情况下，都需要具有所需生物稳定性的纳米颗粒。相反，商业产品中纳米材料的存在增加了人们对纳米材料的环境和生物命运的担忧。Vachet和Rotello将开发的这些新方法将为如何设计具有所需稳定性的纳米颗粒提供定量的见解，从用于药物输送的半稳定材料到商业产品所需的更稳定的材料。除了预期的科学和社会影响外，私人投资机构还建议通过国家纳米制造网络(NNN)在纳米制造研究、开发和教育界广泛传播所学到的知识，并为本科生和研究生提供研究机会，包括那些来自未被充分代表的少数群体的学生。拟议工作的智力价值在于开发了一种双模成像方法，可以根据纳米颗粒的核心材料及其功能化的单层来追踪纳米颗粒。具体地说，Vachet和Rotello将使用激光解吸/电离(LDI)MS根据附着在金核上的单层分子跟踪组织中的纳米颗粒，并使用激光消融(LA)感应耦合等离子体(ICP)MS成像来现场监测纳米颗粒在生物系统中保持不变的程度。然后，Vachet和Rotello将使用这种新的组合成像方法来研究静脉注射(IV)这些纳米颗粒后，纳米颗粒表面化学、纳米颗粒大小和组织生物化学对纳米颗粒在小鼠组织和器官中稳定性的影响。

With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professors Vachet and Rotello and their groups at University of Massachusetts, Amherst will develop a new mass spectrometry-based imaging approach to track nanomaterials in biological samples. Nanoparticles are increasingly used in applications that include drug delivery, sensing, imaging and therapy. In all cases, nanoparticles with the desired biological stability are required. Conversely, the increased presence of nanomaterials in commercial products raises concerns over the environmental and biological fate of nanomaterials. These new methods to be developed by Vachet and Rotello will provide quantitative insight into how to design nanoparticles of desired stability, from semi-stable materials used in drug delivery to much more stable materials that are required in commercial products. In addition to the envisioned scientific and societal impacts, the PIs propose to disseminate learned knowledge broadly through the National Nanomanufacturing Network (NNN) among the nanomanufacturing research, development and education community, as well as provide research opportunities to both undergraduate and graduate students, including those from underrepresented minority groups.The intellectual merits of the proposed work lay in the development a dual mode imaging approach that can track nanoparticles based on both their core material and their functionalized monolayers. Specifically, Vachet and Rotello will use laser desorption/ionization (LDI) MS to track nanoparticles in tissues according to the monolayer molecules attached to the gold core and laser ablation (LA) inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) MS imaging to site-specifically monitor the extent to which nanoparticles stay still intact in biological systems. Vachet and Rotello will then use this new combined imaging approach to study the effect of nanoparticle surface chemistry, nanoparticle size, and tissue biochemistry on nanoparticle stability in tissues and organs from mice after intravenous (IV) injection of these NPs.