Compositions and Methods to Image and Quantify Inflammation

A method of labeling leukocytes, comprising:

• obtaining leukocytes from a patient;
• forming a cellular suspension comprising the leukocytes;
• combining the cellular suspension with an amount of an emulsion of 19F-containing molecule, a surfactant, and water, where the emulsion has an average particle size of between about 10 nanometers and about 500 nanometers to form a cell labeling composition;
• and
• incubating the leukocytes in the cell labeling composition.

A method of assessing inflammation in a subject, comprising the steps of:

• obtaining leukocytes from the subject;
• labeling the leukocytes by incubating the leukocytes with an emulsion of 19F-containing molecule, a surfactant, and water, where the emulsion has an average particle size of between about 10 nanometers and about 500 nanometers;
• introducing the labeled leukocytes into the subject;
• allowing the labeled leukocytes to travel throughout a body of the subject;
• examining the subject using conventional 1H MRI to obtain a 1H MRI data set;
• examining the subject using 19F MRI to obtain a 19F MRI data set;
• and
• overlaying the 19F MRI data set and the 1H MRI data set to identify the location of the labeled leukocytes within the subject.