Oral administration of fluorescent films for prolonged delivery of optical imaging agents

A team of researchers at Stanford and the University of Connecticut have developed a method to deliver contrast agents through a patient-friendly sublingual or buccal film that provides prolonged continuous release for ongoing optical imaging. Currently fluorescent dyes for optical imaging are administered intravenously by injection, which is invasive and inconvenient for the patient. Dyes delivered this way have a very short half-life in circulation and multiple injections are needed to monitor disease progression. This new technology solves that problem using a film formulated to be administered orally and provide steady release of the dye so that imaging can continue for up to 12 hours. This feature is particularly useful for prolonged visualization during surgery. These fluorescent films could enable non-invasive and non-radioactive fluorescent imaging with formulations optimized for either visualizing the upper gastrointestinal tract or for systemic absorption to monitor inflammation and infection.

Stage of Research
The inventors have demonstrated proof of concept with in vivo fluorescence imaging and pharmacokinetics studies in mice using two different film formulations and two different imaging dyes. They are continuing their work to optimize dye load and dye dissolution performance.