Delivery of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to retinal ganglion cells is gaining attention as a therapeutic and diagnostic approach for retinal diseases. However, intravitreal injection of AuNPs is invasive and thus is not optimal. Focused ultrasound with microbubbles (FUS) is a non-invasive method for systemic delivery of viral vectors to retinal Müller glia; however, whether metallic nanoparticles of various sizes and shapes can be delivered via FUS remains unknown. Here, we report FUS-assisted delivery of AuNPs of varying shapes and sizes to retinal ganglion cells. FUS can also deliver dextran (70kDa) to the retinal layer, especially the retinal ganglion cell layer and inner nuclear layer cells. Two-photon microscopic imaging of AuNPs injected into the retinal ganglion cell layer confirms that spherical- and rod-shaped AuNPs with maximum dimensions <80nm are effectively delivered without damage. The amount of detected AuNPs varies with size. Spherical nanoparticles of small diameter (10nm) are ~20-fold more abundant than larger nanoparticles (55nm). Our findings provide a novel approach for delivering nanometer-sized metallic and organic nanomaterials without damaging retinal tissue
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