Center for Biofluid and Biomimic Research, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Korea.
J Phys Chem B. 2011 Feb 10;115(5):889-901. doi: 10.1021/jp1097074. Epub 2011 Jan 11.
We have recently reported on poly(vinyl alcohol) microparticles containing X-ray contrast agent, iopamidol, designed as a flow tracer working in synchrotron X-ray imaging ( Biosens. Bioelectron. 2010 , 25 , 1571 ). Although iopamidol is physically encapsulated in the microparticles, it displays a great contrast enhancement and stable feasibility in in vitro human blood pool. Nonetheless, a direct relation between the absolute amount of incorporated iopamidol and the enhancement in imaging efficiency was not observed. In this study, physical properties of the designed microparticle are systematically investigated experimentally with theoretical interpretation to correlate an enhancement in X-ray imaging efficiency. The compositional ratio of X-ray contrast agent in polymeric microparticle is controlled as 1/1 and 10/1 [contrast agent/polymer microparticle (w/w)] with changed degree of cross-linkings. Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (χ), retractive force (τ) and degree of swelling of the designed polymeric microparticles are investigated. In addition, the hydrodynamic size (D(H)) and ζ-potential are evaluated in terms of environment responsiveness. The physical properties of the designed flow tracer microparticles under a given condition are observed to be strongly related with the X-ray absorption efficiency, which are also supported by the Beer-Lambert-Bouguer law. The designed microparticles are almost nontoxic with a reasonable concentration and time period, enough to be utilized as a flow tracer in various biomedical applications. This study would contribute to the basic understanding on the physical property connected with the imaging efficiency of contrast agents.
我们最近报道了一种载有 X 射线造影剂碘帕醇的聚乙烯醇微球，它被设计为在同步加速器 X 射线成像中作为流动示踪剂使用（Biosens. Bioelectron. 2010, 25, 1571）。尽管碘帕醇在物理上被包埋在微球中，但它在体外人血池中有很好的增强对比度和稳定的可行性。然而，观察到包裹的碘帕醇的绝对数量与成像效率的增强之间没有直接关系。在这项研究中，通过实验系统地研究了设计的微球的物理性质，并进行了理论解释，以关联 X 射线成像效率的增强。X 射线造影剂在聚合物微球中的组成比分别控制为 1/1 和 10/1 [造影剂/聚合物微球（w/w）]，交联度不同。研究了设计的聚合物微球的 Flory-Huggins 相互作用参数（χ）、回复力（τ）和溶胀度。此外，还评估了设计的聚合物微球在给定条件下的流体动力粒径（D(H)）和 ζ-电位，以评估其对环境的响应性。设计的示踪剂微球的物理性质在给定条件下与 X 射线吸收效率密切相关，这也得到了 Beer-Lambert-Bouguer 定律的支持。设计的微球具有合理的浓度和时间周期，几乎没有毒性，足以作为各种生物医学应用中的流动示踪剂。这项研究将有助于深入了解造影剂的成像效率与物理性质之间的关系。
