Soft Lithography-Based Hydrogel Particles and the Effect of Shape and Size on Biodistribution

Poor solubility and rapid elimination can make small-molecule therapeutics difficult to deliver. In addition, many old therapies are in need of repackaging. In order to overcome these obstacles we have employed a top-down particle fabrication technique called Particle Replication In Non-wetting Templates (PRINT (R)) to fabricate unique biocompatible particles with distinct therapeutic properties based on their composition, size, shape and cargo. Particles were tagged with a variety of imaging beacons making them effective as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging and fluorescence imaging. After tail vein injection balb-c mice were imaged by magnetic resonance imaging and near infrared fluorescence imaging.