Abstract #3696

Fluorine labeling and imaging of biomaterial scaffolds for regenerative medicine

Marcin Piejko^1,2, Piotr Walczak^1,3, Xiaowei Li⁴, Jeff W.M. Bulte¹, and Miroslaw Janowski^1,5

¹Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²3rd Department of General Surgery, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland, ³Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland, ⁴Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁵Mossakowski Medical Research Centre, Warsaw, Poland

There is growing interest in stem cell-based regenerative medicine. Hydrogels can serve as injectable scaffolds for transplanted stem cells in order to provide mechanical support, as well as to mimic natural 3D tissue composition, while allowing for minimally invasive needle- or catheter-based delivery. However, the precision of hydrogel injections, as well as monitoring of gel biodegradation, remains challenging. We have shown that clinical grade fluorine nanoemulsion effectively and firmly labels hyaluronian-based hydrogel, supports survival of embedded stem cells, while only mildly changing rheological properties. Additionally, 19F MRI is very attractive as it does not interfere with anatomical and functional MRI.

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