Perfluorohexane-encapsulated fullerene nanospheres for dual-modality US/CT imaging and synergistic high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation

The objective of this study was to develop a multifunctional contrast agent for bioimaging and synergistic high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy to achieve theranostic. A novel type of perfluorohexane-encapsulated fullerene (PFH-C ) nanosphere was successfully developed via a vacuum ultrasonic emulsification and centrifugation method and subsequently used in ultrasound/computed tomography (CT) dual-modality and HIFU ablation of dissected bovine livers. In addition, transmission electron microscopic examination was employed to detect structural changes in the target tissue for HIFU ablation. The use of composite nanospheres effectively enhanced ultrasound and CT imaging. Moreover, the HIFU ablation of dissected bovine livers was also significantly enhanced. Composite nanospheres demonstrate potential theranostic application as a multifunctional contrast agent for dual-modality biological imaging and highly efficient synergistic imaging-guided HIFU ablation.