Modular iodinated carboxybetaine copolymers as charge-sensitive contrast agents for the detection of cartilage degradation.

ABSTRACT: Accurately assessing cartilage tissue degradation is a big challenge in osteoarthritis (OA) research, as histology only provides information about a 2D tissue section, and currently available contrast agents for tomographic evaluation suffer from low specificity. In this study, we present a modular platform based on zwitterionic carboxybetaine (CBAA) to create multivalent polymeric contrast agents for x-ray computed tomography (CT) with high specificity towards the anionic glycosaminoglycans in the cartilage tissue. By copolymerizing CBAA with different ratios of anionic and cationic iodinated comonomers, we created a library of polymers with net charges ranging from strongly anionic to strongly cationic. The polymers were applied onto osteochondral plugs with different degradation states

SUBMITTER: Weber P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11567940 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature