A facile preparation method of a PFC-containing nano-sized emulsion for theranostics of solid tumors

Theranostics means a therapy conducted in a diagnosis-guided manner. For theranostics of solid tumors by means of ultrasound, we designed a nano-sized emulsion containing perfluoropentane (PFC5). This emulsion can be delivered into tumor tissues through the tumor vasculatures owing to its nano-size, and the emulsion is transformed into a micron-sized bubble upon sonication through phase transition of PFC5. The micron-sized bubbles can more efficiently absorb ultrasonic energy for better diagnostic images and can exhibit more efficient ultrasound-driven therapeutic effects than nano-sized bubbles. For more efficient tumor delivery, smaller size is preferable, yet the preparation of a smaller emulsion is technically more difficult. In this paper, we used a bath-type sonicator to successfully obtain small PFC5-containing emulsions in a diameter of ca. 200nm. Additionally, we prepared these small emulsions at 40°C, which is above the boiling temperature of PFC5. Accordingly, we succeeded in obtaining very small nano-emulsions for theranostics through a very facile method.