Ultrasound contrast agents from microbubbles to biogenic gas vesicles.

ABSTRACT: Microbubbles have been the earliest and most widely used ultrasound contrast agents by virtue of their unique features: such as non-toxicity, intravenous injectability, ability to cross the pulmonary capillary bed, and significant enhancement of echo signals for the duration of the examination, resulting in essential preclinical and clinical applications. The use of microbubbles functionalized with targeting ligands to bind to specific targets in the bloodstream has further enabled ultrasound molecular imaging. Nevertheless, it is very challenging to utilize targeted microbubbles for molecular imaging of extravascular targets due to their size. A series of acoustic nanomaterials have been developed for breaking free from this constraint. Especially, biogenic gas vesicles, gas-filled protei

SUBMITTER: Zeng W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10471104 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature