Raman Imaging of Nanocarriers for Drug Delivery

Sally Vanden-Hehir, William J Tipping, Martin Lee, Valerie G Brunton, Anna Williams, Alison N Hulme

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The efficacy of pharmaceutical agents can be greatly improved through nanocarrier delivery. Encapsulation of pharmaceutical agents into a nanocarrier can enhance their bioavailability and biocompatibility, whilst also facilitating targeted drug delivery to specific locations within the body. However, detailed understanding of the in vivo activity of the nanocarrier-drug conjugate is required prior to regulatory approval as a safe and effective treatment strategy. A comprehensive understanding of how nanocarriers travel to, and interact with, the intended target is required in order to optimize the dosing strategy, reduce potential off-target effects, and unwanted toxic effects. Raman spectroscopy has received much interest as a mechanism for label-free, non-invasive imaging of nanocarrier modes of action in vivo. Advanced Raman imaging techniques, including coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), are paving the way for rigorous evaluation of nanocarrier activity at the single-cell level. This review focuses on the development of Raman imaging techniques to study organic nanocarrier delivery in cells and tissues.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNanomaterials
Volume9
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Mar 2019

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