Abstract
ABSTRACTThe use of polyelectrolyte multilayer microcapsules as carriers for fluorescent molecular probes is a prospective technique for monitoring the physiological characteristics of animal vasculature and interstitial environment in vivo. Polyelectrolyte microcapsules have many features that favor their use as implantable carriers of optical sensors, but little information is available on their interactions with complex living tissues, distribution or residence time following different routes of administration in the body of vertebrates. Using the common fish model, the zebrafish Danio rerio, we studied in vivo the distribution of non-biodegradable microcapsules covered with polyethylene glycol (PEG) over time in the adults and evaluated potential side effects of their delivery into the fish bloodstream and muscles. Fluorescent microcapsules administered into the bloodstream and interstitially (in concentrations that were sufficient for visualization and spectral signal recording) both showed negligible acute toxicity to the fishes during three weeks of observation. The distribution pattern of microcapsules delivered into the bloodstream was stable for at least one week, with microcapsules prevalent in capillaries-rich organs. However, after intramuscular injection, the phagocytosis of the microcapsules by immune cells was manifested, indicating considerable immunogenicity of the microcapsules despite PEG coverage. The long-term negative effects of chronic inflammation were also investigated in fish muscles by histological analysis.
Highlights
Microencapsulation is a collection of techniques with great potential for application in biosciences
Fishes treated with polyelectrolyte microcapsules (PMs)-polyethylene glycol (PEG) of an average size of 5.1 μm had lower survival than fishes injected with microcapsules approximately 2 μm in diameter, which had the best survival
Among fishes that were injected with PMs with the PEG-containing coverage (PMs-PEG) containing the dye Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-BSA, the highest mortality during the experiment was among fishes that received the largest concentration of the microcapsules, compared with fishes injected with lower concentrations
Summary
Microencapsulation is a collection of techniques with great potential for application in biosciences. This technique allows fast and easy preparation of hollow microcapsules with a hydrophilic semipermeable polymeric wall enclosing some functional compound (Donath et al, 1998; Antipov et al, 2003; Volodkin et al, 2004; Gaponik et al, 2003; De Geest et al, 2006). (2) Sensing of physiological parameters in vivo (Ruckh and Clark, 2014; Cui et al, 2014; Gurkov et al, 2016; Borvinskaya et al, 2017). The LbLassembled microcapsules have two general types of potential applications in medicine and biological research on whole organisms. This employment is based on the properties of semipermeability and stability (at least on certain time scales) of some types of polymeric shells
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