Nanosized Contrast Agents in Ultrasound Molecular Imaging

Fengyi Zeng; Meng Du; Zhiyi Chen

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2021.758084

Nanosized Contrast Agents in Ultrasound Molecular Imaging

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2021 Nov 29:9:758084. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.758084. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Fengyi Zeng^{1

2

3}, Meng Du^{1

2}, Zhiyi Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ The First Affiliated Hospital, Medical Imaging Centre, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China.
² Institute of Medical Imaging, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China.
³ Laboratory of Ultrasound Molecular Imaging, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Applying nanosized ultrasound contrast agents (nUCAs) in molecular imaging has received considerable attention. nUCAs have been instrumental in ultrasound molecular imaging to enhance sensitivity, identification, and quantification. nUCAs can achieve high performance in molecular imaging, which was influenced by synthetic formulations and size. This review presents an overview of nUCAs from different synthetic formulations with a discussion on imaging and detection technology. Then we also review the progress of nUCAs in preclinical application and highlight the recent challenges of nUCAs.

Keywords: contrast agents; gas vesicles; nanobubbles; nanosized; ultrasound molecular imaging.

Publication types

Review