Enhancing cancer therapeutic efficacy through ultrasound‐mediated micro‐to‐nano conversion

Abstract

Over the last century, significant progress has been made towards the development of microbubbles (MBs) as a contrast agent for imaging and as a carrier for the delivery of therapeutic moieties. The unparalleled ability of MBs to respond to ultrasound (US) render them advantageous for molecular imaging, and US‐responsive targeted delivery. However, the use of MBs has broadened far beyond the imaging contrast agent or drug delivery system alone. Notably, there has been an enormous surge in the design and fabrication of multimodal MBs for cancer therapy. Furthermore, MBs in the presence of the US has unique ability to convert itself from the micro to nanoscale, which offers diagnostic and therapeutic ability in both dimensions. In this review, we summarize the design considerations of MBs, with particular emphasize on their size and composition. In addition, different MBs formulations are discussed in the context of their current progress as an imaging contrast agent and a vehicle for drug/gene delivery. We further highlight recent advancements in the micro‐to‐nano conversion of MBs and their potential application for cancer theranostics. This article is characterized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies

Novel ultrasound techniques in the identification of vulnerable plaques—an updated review of the literature

“…The composition of the shell also determines the hardness of microbubbles, their susceptibility to recognition by the reticuloendothelial system, and their vandalism resistance in high-intensity ultrasonic fields. In addition, the air core encased inside the microbubble considerably enhances the backward scattered acoustic signal ( 12 ) ( Table 1 ). Several types of microbubbles such as the Sonovue series are the main ultrasound contrast agents currently approved and recommended for clinical use ( 13 ).…”

Ultrasound contrast agents from microbubbles to biogenic gas vesicles

“…MBs generally consist of an encapsulating shell and an inner gas core, both of which have significant impacts on the stability and acoustic performance [ 32 , 33 ]. The shell can reduce release rate of gas cores to lengthen circulation time.…”

Micro/Nanobubbles Driven Multimodal Imaging and Theragnostics of Cancer

“…The delivery induced by UTMD is limited to the area of ultrasound irradiation, thus it decreases the undesired damage to surrounding tissues and reduces systemic side effects. UTMD method is widely used in treatment of various types of cancer [30], cardiovascular diseases [31] and neurological diseases [32].…”