Use of osmolarity-responsive Gd- liposomes for the in vitro assessment of osmolarity of biological specimens

摘要

Introduction: Liposomes have been largely exploited for the generation of in vitro analytical assays for quantification of diseases' biomarkers. Different kinds of responsive liposomes have been descrived, e.g. responsive to enzyme activity, to metal ion, to environnemental pH, to temperature, tothe presence of an analyte, etc…1,2 The presence of the biomarke to be assesed triggers detectable changes in liposomes structure or the release of the content or a modication of the chemical properties. These events can be quantified by using different approaches, depending on the liposomes formulation (e.g. measurement of fluorescence or of relaxivity, if they are filled with a fluorochromes or a paramagnetic Gd-complexe, respetively).