Liposomes as delivery agents for medical imaging

Abstract

Medical imaging requires an appropriate intensity of signal from the area of interest in order to differentiate certain structures from surrounding tissues, regardless of the modality used. In the majority of cases, contrast agents specific for each imaging modality are necessary to achieve a sufficiently intense signal. To facilitate the accumulation of contrast in the required zone, various microparticulates have been suggested as carriers for contrast agents. Among these carriers, liposomes-microscopic artificial phospholipid vesicles-draw special attention because of their easily controlled properties and useful pharmacological characteristics. This review will discuss how the advantages of liposomes have been used so far in the rapidly growing field of diagnostic medical imaging.