Near infrared conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPN) for tracking cells using fluorescence and optoacoustic imaging

Tracking the biodistribution of cell therapies is crucial for understanding their safety and efficacy. Optical imaging techniques are particularly useful for tracking cells due to their clinical translatability and potential for intra-operative use to validate cell delivery. However, there is a lack of appropriate optical probes for cell tracking. The only FDA-approved material for clinical use is indocyanine green (ICG). ICG can be used for both fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging, but is prone to photodegradation, and at higher concentrations, undergoes quenching and can adversely affect cell health. We have developed novel near-infrared imaging probes comprising conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs) that can be fine-tuned to absorb and emit light at specific wavelengths. To compare the performance of the CPNs with ICG for in vivo cell tracking, labelled mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) were injected subcutaneously in mice and detected using fluorescence imaging (FI) and a form of photoacoustic imaging called multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT). MSCs labelled with either ICG or CPN 770 could be detected with FI, but only CPN 770-labelled MSCs could be detected with MSOT. These results show that CPNs show great promise for tracking cells in vivo using optical imaging techniques, and for some applications, out-perform ICG.