Ultrasound in medicine & biology
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Ultrasound Med Biol · Nov 2012
Stability of echogenic liposomes as a blood pool ultrasound contrast agent in a physiologic flow phantom.
Echogenic liposomes (ELIP) are multifunctional ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) with a lipid shell encapsulating both air and an aqueous core. ELIP are being developed for molecular imaging and image-guided therapeutic delivery. Stability of the echogenicity of ELIP in physiologic conditions is crucial to their successful translation to clinical use. ⋯ The stability of echogenicity of a modified ELIP formulation was determined in vitro at body temperature, physiologic gas concentration and throughout the physiologic pressure range. However, proper care should be taken to ensure that ELIP are not cooled rapidly from body temperature to room temperature as they will lose their echogenic properties. Further in vivo investigations will be needed to evaluate the optimal usage of ELIP as blood pool contrast agents.