Tethering functional ligands onto shell of ultrasound active polymeric microbubbles

Abstract

Hollow (air-filled) microparticles, i.e., microbubbles, provide a promising novel vehicle for both local delivery of therapeutic agents and simultaneous diagnostic ultrasound echo investigations. In this paper, we describe the synthetic routes for decorating the polymeric shell of a poly(vinyl alcohol)-based microbubble with low and high molecular weight ligands with pharmacological relevance. Investigations on physical properties of microbubbles and surface chemical coupling with different cargo molecules such as L-cysteine, L-lysine, poly(L-lysine), chitosan, and β-cyclodextrin were carried out by CD and NMR spectroscopies, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and microcalorimetry. The in v..