Experimental study on preparation of lipid ultrasound microbubbles carrying gene and Tat peptide / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To prepare the lipid ultrasound microbubbles carrying gene and transactivating transc"ptional activator(Tat)peptide and to study the efficiency of carrying gene and Tat as well as to study their ability as an ultrasound contrast agent.Methods The lipid ultrasound microbubbles were prepared using mechanical vibration method.The appearance,distribution,concentration,diameter and zeta potential were measured.The efficiencies of carrying gene and Tat were studyed by a confocal laser scanning microscopy and a fluorospectrophotometer.For the in vivo experiment,contrast-enhanced ultrasonography was performed on six rabbits to observe the duration and intensity of enhancement in the heart chambers and myocardium after the injection of the microbubbles.Results The diameter of the self-made lipid microbubbles carrying gene and Tat was(2.27±0.38)μm,the concentration was(3.07±0.42)×109/ml and zeta potential was(1.95±0.13)mV.The gene encapsulation efficiency for the lipid ultrasound microbubbles was 32%,and the Tat encapsulation efficiency was 35%.The in vivo experiment showed that the lipid ultrasound microbubbles could significantly enhance the echo intensity of myocardium.Conclusions The efficiency of carrying gene and Tat for the prepared lipid microbubbles is high,which can be used as a new vehicle carrying genes or drugs for therapy as well as an ultrasound contrast agent.