Hallam Kristina A, Emelianov Stanislav Y
Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Biomed Opt Express. 2019 Jun 6;10(7):3139-3151. doi: 10.1364/BOE.10.003139. eCollection 2019 Jul 1.
The blood brain barrier (BBB), a component of the brain's natural defense system, is often a roadblock for the monitoring and treatment of neurological disorders. Recently, we introduced a technique to open the blood brain barrier through the use of laser-activated perfluorohexane nanodroplets (PFHnDs), a phase-change nanoagent that undergoes repeated vaporization and recondensation when excited by a pulsed laser. Laser-activated PFHnDs were shown to enable noninvasive and localized opening of the BBB, allowing extravasation of various sized agents into the brain tissue. In this current work, the laser-activated PFHnD-induced BBB opening is further explored. In particular, laser fluence and the number of laser pulses used for the PFHnD-induced BBB opening are examined and evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively to determine the effect of these parameters on BBB opening. The results of these studies show trends between increased laser fluence and an increased BBB opening as well as between an increased number of laser pulses and an increased BBB opening, however, with limitations on the extent of the BBB opening after a certain number of pulses. Overall, the results of these studies serve as a guideline to choosing suitable laser parameters for safe and effective BBB opening.
血脑屏障(BBB)是大脑天然防御系统的一个组成部分,常常成为神经疾病监测和治疗的障碍。最近,我们引入了一种通过使用激光激活的全氟己烷纳米液滴(PFHnDs)来打开血脑屏障的技术,PFHnDs是一种相变纳米剂,在脉冲激光激发时会经历反复的汽化和再冷凝。已证明激光激活的PFHnDs能够实现血脑屏障的非侵入性局部打开,使各种大小的药剂渗入脑组织。在当前这项工作中,对激光激活PFHnD诱导的血脑屏障打开进行了进一步探索。特别是,对用于PFHnD诱导血脑屏障打开的激光能量密度和激光脉冲数进行了定性和定量的检查与评估,以确定这些参数对血脑屏障打开的影响。这些研究结果显示出激光能量密度增加与血脑屏障打开程度增加之间以及激光脉冲数增加与血脑屏障打开程度增加之间的趋势,然而,在一定数量的脉冲后血脑屏障打开的程度存在限制。总体而言,这些研究结果为选择合适的激光参数以实现安全有效的血脑屏障打开提供了指导。