OPTIMIZED SYNTHESIS OF AIEGEN AND DRUG LOADED POLYMER NANOPARTICLES FOR THERANOSTIC APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Sophisticated theranostic nanoplatforms that enable drug delivery and optical tracing have attracted significant research interest. Recently aggregation induced emission (AIE) molecules have shown to possess the advantage of being multi-functional agents. Upon strategic molecular design, they can be imparted with therapeutic and contrast functionalities. Nanoprecipitation was used to encapsulate hydrophobic AIE aggregates in an amphiphilic polymer and batch nanoprecipitation method was replaced with flash nanoprecipitation in a turbulent jet mixer. Since, synthesizing polymeric nanoparticles of specified size and distribution can help us define the biological dependence on the morphology, controlled NP synthesis through flash nanoprecipitation became the primary goal of this work. In this study, zebrafish helps us evaluate the biocompatibility and bio-distribution of nano-formulations. Subsequently, we have optimized image-guided photodynamic therapy in zebrafish using AIE photosensitizer NPs. Highly fluorescent AIE NP labelled cancer cells were also grafted in zebrafish larvae, enabling long-term visualization of cancer-cell migration, angiogenesis and therapy.