Biodistribution is a valuable technique used to determine payload delivery from nanocarrier to organs of interest in preclinical models. Fluorescent probes can be used as drug surrogates, providing indirect but relevant measurement of tissue exposure to the carrier. This may be useful, for example, to perform a first-pass evaluation of how targeting affects delivery of encapsulated compounds to target organs. This protocol is designed for non-enzymatic tissue homogenization of a variety of organ types allowing tracking of small molecule fluorophores injected freely or encapsulated in nanoparticles.
Keywords: Biodistribution; Drug delivery; Mechanical homogenization; Nanoparticles; Small molecule fluorophores; Tissue homogenization.