Responsive fluorinated nanoemulsions for 19F magnetic resonance detection of cellular hypoxia

Abstract

We report two highly fluorinated Cu-based imaging agents, CuL₁ and CuL₂, for detecting cellular hypoxia as nanoemulsion formulations. Both complexes retained their initial quenched ¹⁹F MR signals due to paramagnetic Cu²⁺; however, both complexes displayed a large signal increase when the complex was reduced. DLS studies showed that the CuL₁ nanoemulsion (NECuL₁) had a hydrodiameter of approximately 100 nm and that it was stable for four weeks post-preparation. Hypoxic cells incubated with NECuL₁ showed that 40% of the Cu²⁺ taken up was reduced in low oxygen environments.