Ioversol

Ioversol is a non-ionic low osmolar contrast medium that induces direct cytotoxic effects on rat glomerular endothelial cells. When glomerular endothelial cells were treated with ioversol at doses of 25 to 200 μl/ml for 24 hours, cell viability decreased in a dose-dependent manner as measured by MTT assay, with statistically significant differences observed at doses of 50 to 200 μl/ml. Morphological examination revealed nuclear condensation, nuclear fragmentation, cell apoptosis and necrosis following exposure to ioversol at 100 μl/ml for 24 hours. Ioversol treatment also caused a marked elevation of intracellular free calcium concentrations in glomerular endothelial cells detected by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The increase in intracellular calcium, lactate dehydrogenase release and expression changes of apoptosis-associated proteins induced by ioversol were reversed by pretreatment with the intracellular calcium chelator BAPTA/AM.

Fig. 1 The effects of ioversol on [Ca2+]i in GECs. (Zhao J.; et al. 2009)

Ioversol-loaded liposome-camouflaged iodinated mesoporous silica nanoparticles were designed to address the limitations of free ioversol including rapid renal excretion, contrast-induced nephropathy and poor targetability. The OIV-MSNs@Liposomes integrated the advantages of both liposomes and mesoporous silica nanoparticles, achieving high iodine loading capacity, high hemodynamic stability during systemic circulation, high biocompatibility and high radiopacity. The nanoparticles demonstrated enhanced X-ray attenuation performance compared to free ioversol. This liposome-camouflaged nanoparticulate system offers a versatile approach for delivering highly water-soluble nonionic iodinated contrast agents for enhanced CT imaging applications.

Fig. 2 Preparation of OIV-MSNs@Liposomes. (Fu N.; et al. 2024)