Intravesical Liposome and Antisense Treatment for Detrusor Overactivity and Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome
Figure 2
Ex vivo images of rat bladder taken in visible and near-infrared light indicate the coating formed by instilled liposomes on bladder surface. Liposomes carry a trace amount of near-infrared (NIR) lipophilic carbocyanine dye 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindotricarbocyanine iodide (DiR) that fluoresces on exposure to NIR light. Rat bladder filled with urine was tied at the base with thread prior to harvest. Liposomes coating the bladder surface are invisible in visible light photograph (a) but is indicated by blue colored coating on the bladder luminal surface in NIR light (b). NIR imaging in vivo can allow noninvasive repeat objective measurement for bladder residence time of instilled treatments. (c) Schematic illustration of liposome coating the bladder surface. Given the chemical affinity of phospholipids of instilled liposomes with lipids in cells lining the bladder surface, the liposomes form a protective film coating on the injured bladder lumen surface and assist in the repair of leaky and inflamed uroepithelium.
