(269e) Indocyanine Green J-Aggregate and Anticancer Drug Loaded Polymersomes for Photoacoustic Image-Guided Drug Delivery

Theranostic methods to image and treat cancer have the potential to have a large impact on human health. Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) using near-infrared (NIR) contrast agents allow deep tissue imaging, for example of breast and ovarian cancer. Herein, we encapsulate indocyanine green J-aggregates (ICGJ) and drugs into polymersomes to achieve sufficient blood circulation and targeting of tumor cells with monoclonal antibodies on the surface. The polymersomes were synthesized via self-assembly of poly(lactide-co-glycolide-b-polyethylene glycol) (PLGA-b-PEG) amphiphilic block copolymer using a double emulsion solvent evaporation method. ICGJ encapsulated polymersomes exhibited sizes of 80-90nm and strong NIR absorbance at 890nm. The polymersomes were stable in neutral (pH 7.4) and acidic (pH 5.5) 100% fetal bovine serum (FBS) for 24 hours enabling photoacoustic cancer imaging. A hydrophobic anticancer drug paclitaxel was loaded along with ICGJ for image-guided therapy to monitor the drug release.