Molecular Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Contrast Agents for Assessment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background and Aims. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has taken an important role in the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In the wake of current advances in nanotechnology, the drug delivery industry has seen a surge of nanoparticles advertising high specificity in target imaging. Given the rapid development of the field, this review has assembled related articles to explore whether molecular contrast agents can improve the diagnostic capability on gastrointestinal imaging, especially for IBD. Methods. Relevant articles published between 1998 and 2018 from a literature search of PubMed and EMBASE were reviewed. Data extraction was performed on the studies’ characteristics, experimental animals, modelling methods, nanoparticles type, magnetic resonance methods, and means of quantitative analysis. Results. A total of 8 studies were identified wherein the subjects were animals, and all studies employed MR equipment. One group utilized a perfluorocarbon solution and the other 7 groups used either magnetic nanoparticles or gadolinium- (Gd-) related nanoparticles for molecular contrast. With ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) particles and Gd-related nanoparticles, signal enhancements were found in the mucosa or with focal lesion of IBD-related model in T1-weighted images (T1WI), whereas superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) particles showed a signal decrease in the intestinal wall of the model in T1WI or T2-weighted images. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was employed to analyze bowel intensity in 3 studies. And the percentage of normalized enhancement was used in 1 study for assessing the severity of inflammation. Conclusion. Molecular MRI with contrast agents can improve the early diagnosis of IBD and quantitate the severity of inflammation in experimental studies.

Impact of administration route on nanocarrier biodistribution in a murine colitis model

“…Currently, most available research into nanoparticles for IBD are function-based, examining disease outcome as a marker for nanoparticle delivery [ 32 , 55 ], and few studies are disease-based, examining the biodistribution of nanoparticles in control vs. diseased tissues [ 9 , 56 ]. This study sought to examine the route-dependent, disease-based biodistribution of nanoparticles in a murine IBD model, ultimately providing evidence for researchers to apply in considering experimental design, internal normalization parameters, and applying the Reduction principle for animal numbers [ 57 ].…”

“…Nanoparticles have been widely investigated as contrast agents for imaging-based evaluation of disease extent [ 9 – 11 ] and for delivering colon-targeted therapies for IBD [ 12 – 16 ]. However, few studies have examined the potential to detect intestinal inflammation using radiolabeled nanoparticles for high-specificity PET imaging [ 17 ].…”

Multifunctional PD-L1 Targeted Fe3O4@DOX Nanoparticles Under MRI Monitoring For Combination Therapy of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

“…Several types of iron oxide nanoparticles have been evaluated in preclinical and clinical trials with some already available as commercial products on the market. It is reasonably expected that a variety of Fe 3 O 4based diagnosis-to-drug complexes will be routinely used in clinical practice in the coming decades [33].…”

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“…The nuclei in tissues move randomly and do not produce any magnetic effect in the absence of the magnetic field. However, placing the subject within the MRI magnetic field results in the parallel alignment of the protons of the tissues with the main magnet [ 104 ]. Following the alignment of protons with the magnetic field, the RF pulse is then applied to the tissue.…”