Niosomes as carriers of radiopaque contrast agents for X-ray imaging.

Non-ionic surfactant vesicles (niosomes) are considered as carriers of iobitridol, a diagnostic agent used for X-ray imaging. The niosomes, with a diameter between 150 and 175 nm, are prepared using the film-hydration method followed by sonication. These vesicles were obtained with appropriate mixtures of D-alpha tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate, polyoxyethylene glycol 4000 stearate, sorbitan monostearate, cholesterol and dicetylphosphate. Methods allowing the increase of the rate of encapsulation and the stability of the vesicles were carried out. In addition to the study of the formulation of the vesicles, the physico-chemical and morphological properties of the vesicles have been studied.