Overcoming barriers in topical administration of gold nanoparticles for optical coherence tomography using multi-modal delivery

Author(s): Kim, CS; Wilder-Smith, P; Ahn, YC; Liaw, LHL; Chen, Z; Kwon, YJ | Abstract: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive and promising imaging modality with high resolution that is an order of magnitude higher than current diagnostic techniques. However, its use in detecting early-stage cancer is limited due to insufficient contrast level in biological tissue, which can be enhanced by harnessing contrast agents [e.g., gold nanoparticles (Au NPs)]. Enhanced penetration by creating micropassages and distribution by ultrasonic force (multimodal topical delivery) was proven to overcome two major barriers (stratum corneum and epithelial barriers) in topically administering Au NPs using an in vivo oral dysplasia hamster model (overall 150% enhanced OCT contrast). Expanded progress on a highly efficient and versatile Au NP-releasing polymer microneedle platform showed a promising next generation multi-modal delivery of Au NPs. © 2010 Copyright SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering.