Liquid perfluorocarbons as contrast agents for ultrasonography and (19)F-MRI.
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are fluorinated compounds that have been used for many years in clinics mainly as gas/oxygen carriers and for liquid ventilation. Besides this main application, PFCs have also been tested as contrast agents for ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging since the end of the 1970s. However, most of the PFCs applied as contrast agents for imaging were gaseous. This class of PFCs has been recently substituted by liquid PFCs as ultrasound contrast agents. Additionally, liquid PFCs are being tested as contrast agents for (19)F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to yield dual contrast agents for both ultrasonography and (19)F MRI. This review focuses on the development and applications of the different contrast agents containing liquid perfluorocarbons for ultrasonography and/or MRI: large and small size emulsions (i.e. nanoemulsions) and nanocapsules.
Díaz-López
Raquel
R
Univ Paris Sud, UMR CNRS 8612, Faculté de Pharmacie, 5 rue Jean-Baptiste Clément, 92296, Châtenay-Malabry, France.
Tsapis
Nicolas
N
Fattal
Elias
E
D000818:Animals; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000737:chemistry*; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005461:Fluorine; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008954:Models, Biological; D015394:Molecular Structure; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*
D003287:Contrast Media; D004337:Drug Carriers; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D005461:Fluorine