Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10691348 | Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology | 2015 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
Although traditional microbubble contrast agents are bright, the high contrast of gas bubbles and air-water interfaces in the upper gastrointestinal tract renders these agents less useful for diagnosing diseases such as eosinophilic esophagitis, a disease characterized by patchy infiltration of eosinophils into the esophagus. Here we report a first-in-class ultrasound contrast enhancement agent composed of echogenic insulin particles, which are labeled with molecular recognition elements to diagnose eosinophil-associated diseases. We prepared solid echogenic insulin particles, tethered antibodies to eosinophil granule major basic protein 1 (MBP-1) to their surfaces and experimentally evaluated binding of these agents to MBP-1 on ex vivo non-human primate esophagi. We found that insulin particles can be readily observed by ultrasound and bind to MBP-1-coated esophagi within minutes. Our results suggest the potential of this new class of solid contrast agents to image, diagnose and improve management of eosinophilic esophagitis.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Acoustics and Ultrasonics
Authors
Hedieh Saffari, Anne Kennedy, Kathryn A. Peterson, Gerald J. Gleich, Leonard F. III,