Intravascular contrast agents in diagnostic applications: Use of red blood cells to improve the lifespan and efficacy of blood pool contrast agents

摘要: In medicine, discrimination between pathologies and normal areas is of great importance, in most cases, such made possible by novel imaging technologies. Numerous modalities have been developed to visualize tissue vascularization cardiovascular diseases or during angiogenic vasculogenic processes. Here, we report the recent advances vasculature imaging, providing an overview current non-invasive approaches biomedical diagnostics potential future strategies for prognostic assessment vessel diseases, as aneurysms coronary artery occlusion leading myocardial infarction. There are several contrast agents (CAs) available improve visibility specific tissues at early stage allowing rapid treatment. However, CAs also hampered numerous limitations, including diffusion from blood vessels into interstitial space, toxicity, low sensitivity. Extravasation leads a loss image. If medium can fully be confined vascular high-resolution structural functional could obtained. Many scientists contributed new materials and/or carrier systems. For example, use red cells (RBCs) CA-delivery systems appears provide scalable alternative procedures that allows adequate imaging. Recognition removal circulation prevented delayed using RBCs biomimetic CA-carriers, this technology should clinically validated.