Preclinical imaging and biodistribution studies of lipid nanoemulsions

Abstract

Over the past two decades, nanomedicine has shown great promise for changing the paradigm of conventional medicine. However, the translation rate of nanomedicines from basic scientific research to clinical application remains relatively low. One of the major concerns for the effective clinical translation is the insufficient understanding of the nanomedicines in vivo behavior. In this regard, non-invasive imaging is emerging as a promising avenue to address this issue, offering attractive possibilities to monitor the nanoparticle pharmacokinetic profile, the drug delivery process, or the target site accumulation. Within this framework, the main objective of this thesis is the tailoring of sphingomyelin nanoemulsions with imaging agents (e.g., MR contrast agents, radionuclides, and fluorophores) to explore their in vivo behavior in preclinical models. Biodistribution studies of labeled sphingomyelin nanoemulsions demonstrated their versality to be adapted for different medical needs and provided valuable information about the in vivo fate of these novel nanoplatforms. Altogether, this thesis sheds light on the potential of these lipid nanoemulsions as translational nanomedicines and opens a gate for the development of further preclinical nanotheranostics.