Ferumoxsil

Orally administered substances which suppress signals from gastrointestinal fluid can be used to enhance image quality in magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). In daily practice, the available substances range from commercial products to regular viands such as fruit juices.

To provide an overview on the significance of and the substances used as gastrointestinal fluid signal suppressors in MRCP.

A systematic review of the existing literature was performed to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of oral T2-signal suppressors in MRCP.

Twenty-five publications on 16 different oral contrast media were identified. The most commonly used substances were ferumoxsil, ferric ammonium citrate, and pineapple juice. Twenty-three out of 25 publications supported the use of oral signal suppressors in MRCP. Advantages of oral signal suppressors include improved visualization of the pancreatobiliary ductal system, increased help with differential diagnoses, and higher detection rates of relevant diagnoses due to a reduction of overlaying signals.

The application of oral substances for gastrointestinal signal suppression in MRCP is recommendable. A variety of substances are used in daily routine with good but varying effectivity and patient tolerance.

In this study, superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles (NPs) with an average size of 10±2 nm were coated with doxorubicin (Dox)-conjugated heparin (DH-SPIO) and were used for targeted anticancer drug delivery, and as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent. The DH-SPIO NPs had a mean particle size of 125±10 nm and a zeta potential of –35±3 mV. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and MTT assay were used to investigate the properties of DH-SPIO NPs. The internalization of DH-SPIO NPs into A549 tumor cells was examined using fluorescence microscopy and quantified by flow cytometry. Prussian blue staining, total iron assay, in vitro MRI and transmission electron microscopy showed that DH-SPIO NPs had high superparamagnetic clustering effect. In vivo therapy of A549 human lung carcinoma, DHSPIO NPs displayed a higher efficacy than Dox in inhibiting tumor growth and prolonging the survival of mice bearing tumors. Meanwhile, the pathological damage to the cardiac tissue in mice treated with DH-SPIO NPs was significantly less severe than that of mice treated with free Dox at the same dosage. These results show that DH-SPIO NPs are promising biomaterials for combined drug therapy and clinical imaging.