Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Small animal CT imaging provides high resolution imaging of bone structure, lungs, and gross anatomy. However, it is limited in its ability to provide high soft tissue contrast. Several blood pool CT contrast agents have been developed to enhance vascular and tissue contrast for preclinical imaging with varying enhancement capabilities. VivoVistTM is the most recent commercially available blood pool CT contrast agent for preclinical applications. This study independently evaluated its radiopacity and tissue enhancement compared to two existing preclinical CT contrast agents, Mvivo-Au, and Fenestra-HDVC. Healthy nude mice were administered one of the three contrast agents. CT imaging was performed before and at 5 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 96 hours, and 7 days post-injection. Tissue intensity and the enhancement ratio relative to pre-injection levels were quantified for each contrast agent at each time point. VivoVist demonstrated significantly higher blood enhancement compared to Mvivo-Au and Fenestra-HDVC at 5 minutes and 1 hour post-injection. However, the enhancement at 4 hours and later time points was inferior to that of Mvivo-Au. VivoVist exhibited the fastest blood clearance among the three contrast agents, with a blood half-life of 3.1 hours and was largely cleared from the blood by 24 hours post-injection. In CT imaging after 24 hours post-injection, VivoVist showed the highest liver enhancement, which remained high over the 7-day imaging period. Biodistribution assessment showed that the splenic uptake of VivoVist was extremely high. Histological examination of the tissues identified abundant contrast agent accumulation in the liver and spleen. No overt pathological changes were observed in either organ one month after the injection of VivoVist. Overall, the evaluation confirmed that VivoVist is an effective CT contrast agent for vascular and liver imaging with low toxicity. However, its relatively short blood half-life limits its use as a vascular contrast agent for a prolonged period.
Source: PLoS ONE
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language: English
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,382
Funders: Beijing Medical Award Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, Stanford University, Takeda Science Foundation, Jinan Science and Technology Bureau, Bournemouth University, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Wellcome Trust, Francis Crick Institute, Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Science and Technology Department of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Đại học Tôn Đức Thắng, Bangladesh Agricultural University Research System, European Commission, National University of Singapore, National Research Foundation Singapore, Indian Council of Medical Research, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grantová Agentura České Republiky, Eesti Teadusagentuur, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Austrian Science Fund, China Meteorological Administration, Government of Jiangsu Province, Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, German-Jordanian University, Department of Education of Hebei Province, Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Government, Israel Science Foundation, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Narodowe Centrum Nauki, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province, Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province, Natural Science Foundation of Hainan Province, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Norges Forskningsråd, EuroQol Research Foundation, Yangzhou University, Department of Education of Liaoning Province, Hainan Medical University, NOMIS Stiftung, Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, Hashemite University, Grand Équipement National De Calcul Intensif, Guangdong Office of Philosophy and Social Science, Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Shenzhen Research and Development Program, Yunnan Provincial Department of Education Science Research Fund Project, National Institutes of Health, Applied Basic Research Foundation of Yunnan Province, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Canadian Space Agency, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, National Medical Research Council, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, John Fell Fund, University of Oxford, Narodowe Centrum Badań i Rozwoju, Earmarked Fund for China Agriculture Research System, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Science and Technology Program of Gansu Province, Special Fund Project for Science and Technology Innovation Strategy of Guangdong Province, Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province, Deanship of Scientific Research, University of Jordan, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Office of Naval Research, National Cancer Institute, Fogarty International Center, Los Alamos National Laboratory, H2020 European Research Council, NHLBI Division of Intramural Research, HORIZON EUROPE European Innovation Council, Zhejiang Province Public Welfare Technology Application Research Project, Institute for Mathematical Sciences, National University of Singapore, Thomas and Jeanne Elmezzi Foundation
Award: Cancer Center Support Grant
OpenAlex ID: W4415746877