Vascular permeability with targeted contrast agents—The effect of physiologically relevant dynamic shear stress

Abstract

Targeted ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) may be able to facilitate an early noninvasive diagnosis of atherogenesis. The coronary arterial branches might be routinely scanned for a clinical diagnosis since plaques often first form at disturbed flow regions within bifurcations. However, many outstanding questions exist on the targeting efficacy subject to pulsatile and potentially pathological flow in these areas. Targeted ultrasound contrast agents conjugated to the antibody of the intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) are injected into y-shaped flow chambers that model the coronary heart artery bifurcations. Simultaneous measurements of the barrier function in physiologically relevant dynamic shear stresses are monitored with electric cell impedance (ECIS) measurements. The study aims at quantifying variations of the barrier function at regions with exposure to different shear stresses and correlating this information to the binding efficacy of targeted UCAs conjugated to the antibody of ICAM-1. Th...