Application of a novel near infrared-fluorescence giant vesicle- and polymerasome-based tissue marker for endoscopic and laparoscopic navigation

Anal Sci. 2014;30(2):225-30. doi: 10.2116/analsci.30.225.

Abstract

In this study, we describe the development of a novel tissue marker that can be injected from within the digestive tract by using an endoscopic instrument, and visualized using near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging. The marker was prepared in three steps, (i) mixing NIR-fluorescent indocyanine green (ICG) with giant vesicles (GVs) of lecithin, (ii) suspending the ICG-containing giant vesicles (ICG-GV) in an oil phase dissolving polyglycerol-polyricinoleate (PGPR), and (iii) centrifugation of the suspension layered on a buffered solution to obtain a giant polymer vesicle (polymerasome) containing ICG-GV. We injected the tissue marker into the inner gastric surface of an anesthetized pig using an endoscopic syringe, and observed the injection site using a fluorescence laparoscopic camera. The diameter of the spot blur was approximately 2 cm over a 5-h period, demonstrating the utility of this procedure as a tissue marker for tumor marking, and suggesting its potential for assisting navigation during surgical procedures.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Digestive System Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Fiducial Markers*
  • Indocyanine Green / analysis*
  • Indocyanine Green / chemistry*
  • Infrared Rays*
  • Injections
  • Laparoscopy / instrumentation
  • Laparoscopy / methods*
  • Lecithins / chemistry
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Polymers / chemistry*
  • Swine
  • Syringes

Substances

  • Lecithins
  • Polymers
  • Indocyanine Green