Hitchhiking probiotic vectors to deliver ultra-small hafnia nanoparticles for ‘Color’ gastrointestinal tract photon counting X-ray imaging

Fatemeh Ostadhossein; Parikshit Moitra; Nivetha Gunaseelan; Michael Nelappana; Chiara Lowe; Mahdieh Moghiseh; Anthony Butler; Niels de Ruiter; Harish Mandalika; Indu Tripathi; Santosh K. Misra; Dipanjan Pan

doi:10.1039/D1NH00626F

Hitchhiking probiotic vectors to deliver ultra-small hafnia nanoparticles for ‘Color’ gastrointestinal tract photon counting X-ray imaging†

Fatemeh Ostadhossein,‡^ab Parikshit Moitra,‡^c Nivetha Gunaseelan,^cd Michael Nelappana,

^a Chiara Lowe,^e Mahdieh Moghiseh,^ef Anthony Butler,

^efghi Niels de Ruiter,^efgi Harish Mandalika,^fgi Indu Tripathi,^a Santosh K. Misra

^a and Dipanjan Pan

*^abcdj

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 611 West Park Street, Urbana, IL, USA
E-mail: dipanjan@som.umaryland.edu

^b Beckman Institute of Advanced Science and Technology, 405 N. Mathews M/C 251, Urbana, IL 61801-2325, USA

^c Departments of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Maryland Baltimore, 670 W Baltimore St., Baltimore, Maryland, USA

^d Department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

^e University of Otago Christchurch, Christchurch, New Zealand

^f MARS Bioimaging Limited, Christchurch, New Zealand

^g University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

^h European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva, Switzerland

ⁱ Human Interface Technology Laboratory New Zealand, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

^j Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 201 Materials Science and Engineering Building, 1304 W. Green St. MC 246, Urbana, IL 61801, USA

Abstract

Gastrointestinal (GI) tract is one of the hard-to-reach target tissues for the delivery of contrast agents and drugs mediated by nanoparticles due to its harsh environment. Herein, we overcame this barrier by designing orally ingestible probiotic vectors for ‘hitchhiking’ ultrasmall hafnia (HfO₂) (∼1–2 nm) nanoparticles. The minute-made synthesis of these nanoparticles is accomplished through a simple reduction reaction. These nanoparticles were incubated with probiotic bacteria with potential health benefits and were non-specifically taken up due to their small size. Subsequently, the bacteria were lyophilized and packed into a capsule to be administered orally as the radiopaque contrast agents for delineating the GI features. These nano-bio-hybrid entities could successfully be utilized as contrast agents in vivo in the conventional and multispectral computed tomography (CT). We demonstrated in ‘color’ the accumulated nanoparticles using advanced detectors of the photon counting CT. The enhanced nano-bio-interfacing capability achieved here can circumvent traditional nanoparticle solubility and delivery problems while offering a patient friendly approach for GI imaging to replace the currently practiced barium meal.

This article is part of the themed collection: Horizons Community Board Collection: Antimicrobial materials and surfaces

Nanoscale Horizons

Hitchhiking probiotic vectors to deliver ultra-small hafnia nanoparticles for ‘Color’ gastrointestinal tract photon counting X-ray imaging†

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Hitchhiking probiotic vectors to deliver ultra-small hafnia nanoparticles for ‘Color’ gastrointestinal tract photon counting X-ray imaging

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