Efficient Synthesis of Polymeric Fluorinated Nanoparticles with High Fluorine Content via Aqueous Photo-Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly for 19F MRI Application

Abstract

Polymeric fluorinated nanoparticles (PFNPs) are useful materials in many applications, especially in the field of ¹⁹F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Despite the development of numerous PFNPs with diverse chemical compositions and structures, those with high fluorine content and capable of highly sensitive ¹⁹F MRI remain scarce. Here we report an elegantly designed aqueous photo-polymerization-induced self-assembly (photo-PISA) system for the synthesis of PFNPs with high fluorine content for effective ¹⁹F MRI applications. This innovative photo-PISA system is enabled by two analogous fluorinated monomers, allowing efficient production of PFNPs with different morphologies and high fluorine content (25 wt %) in aqueous solution. These PFNPs exhibit favorable ¹⁹F MRI properties and morphology-dependent biological behavior, and have potential as advanced polymeric nanomaterials for imaging and drug delivery applications.