Ultrasound(US) imaging in combination with US contrast agents(UCAs) is a powerful tool in the modern biomedical field because of its high spatial resolution, easy access to patients and minimum invasiveness.The microb...Ultrasound(US) imaging in combination with US contrast agents(UCAs) is a powerful tool in the modern biomedical field because of its high spatial resolution, easy access to patients and minimum invasiveness.The microbubble-based UCAs have been widely used in clinical diagnosis; however, they are only limited to the blood pool imaging and not applicable to the tissue-penetrated imaging due to their large particle size and structural instability. Inorganic nanoparticles(NPs), such as silica,gold and Fe x O y, featured with both satisfactory echogenic properties and structural stability have the potential to be used as a new generation of UCAs. In this review, we present the most recent progresses in the tailored construction of inorganic UCAs and their biomedical applications in the US imaging-involved fields. Firstly, the typical inorganic NPs with different structures including solid, hollow and multiple-layer forms will be comprehensively introduced in terms of their structure design,physicochemical property, US imaging mechanism and diverse applications; secondly, the recent progress in exploring the gas-generating inorganic NP system for US imaging purpose will be reviewed, and these intelligent UCAs are multifunctional for simultaneous US imaging and disease therapy; thirdly, several nanocomposite platforms newly constructed by combining inorganic UCAs with other functional components will be presented anddiscussed. These multifunctional NPs are capable of further enhancing the imaging resolution by providing more comprehensive anatomical information simultaneously.Last but not the least, the design criteria for developing promising UCAs to satisfy both clinical demands and optimized US imaging capability will be discussed and summarized in this review.展开更多
基金supported by China National Funds for Distinguished Young Scientists(51225202)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51402329)+1 种基金Science Foundation for Youth Scholar of State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures(SKL201404)Shanghai Excellent Academic Leaders Program(14XD1403800)
文摘Ultrasound(US) imaging in combination with US contrast agents(UCAs) is a powerful tool in the modern biomedical field because of its high spatial resolution, easy access to patients and minimum invasiveness.The microbubble-based UCAs have been widely used in clinical diagnosis; however, they are only limited to the blood pool imaging and not applicable to the tissue-penetrated imaging due to their large particle size and structural instability. Inorganic nanoparticles(NPs), such as silica,gold and Fe x O y, featured with both satisfactory echogenic properties and structural stability have the potential to be used as a new generation of UCAs. In this review, we present the most recent progresses in the tailored construction of inorganic UCAs and their biomedical applications in the US imaging-involved fields. Firstly, the typical inorganic NPs with different structures including solid, hollow and multiple-layer forms will be comprehensively introduced in terms of their structure design,physicochemical property, US imaging mechanism and diverse applications; secondly, the recent progress in exploring the gas-generating inorganic NP system for US imaging purpose will be reviewed, and these intelligent UCAs are multifunctional for simultaneous US imaging and disease therapy; thirdly, several nanocomposite platforms newly constructed by combining inorganic UCAs with other functional components will be presented anddiscussed. These multifunctional NPs are capable of further enhancing the imaging resolution by providing more comprehensive anatomical information simultaneously.Last but not the least, the design criteria for developing promising UCAs to satisfy both clinical demands and optimized US imaging capability will be discussed and summarized in this review.
