Rapamycin rap

Rapamycin (Rap) obtained from Meilun Biotechnology Co., Ltd., China was dissolved in 100% ethanol and prepared into 10 mg/ml stock solution, which was kept at −20°C. The stock solution is dissolved with 5% tween-80 and 5% PEG-400 to desired concentration and then used for injection. Alcohol and tween-80 are used to promote drug dissolution. PEG-400 is used to promote drug dissolution and maintain drug stability. The desired concentration of rapamycin is 4 mg/kg. The 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU, Beijing Solarbio technology Co.,Ltd., China) of 100 mg/kg was injected into the animal 2 h before the sample was collected. The stock concentration of BrdU was 10 mg/ml and kept away from light.

Poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and IR780 iodide were all purchased from Sigma–Aldrich (United States). Rapamycin (RAP) was purchased from Dalian Meilun Biotechnology (China). DAPI, DiI and Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) were obtained from Beyotime Biotechnology (China). SonoVue™ was a gift from Bracco Imaging B.V. (Italy). RAW 264.7 cells were ordered from American Type Culture Collection (United States). Oxidized LDL was obtained from Yiyuan Biotechnologies (China). All experiments were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, China.