Recent Advances in Perfluorocarbon-Based Delivery Systems for Cancer Theranostics

Abstract

Hypoxia is a key impediment encountered in the treatment of most solid tumors, leading to immune escape and therapeutic resistance. Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) have a unique electrical structure and are characterized by a high solubility for gases. PFC-based oxygen carriers have been evaluated for their ability to deliver oxygen effectively to hypoxic tissues, and significant clinical translation has been demonstrated. And due to the unique acoustic activity, PFCs have been employed to stabilize the injection of gas microbubbles (MBs) as clinical ultrasonography contrast agents. In contrast, the ultrasound and photothermally activatable PFC phase-shift nanodroplets (P-SNDs) represent a novel alternative to ultrasound imaging and hypoxia improvement. The PFC-based oxygen carriers may be utilized to improve the efficacy of cancer treatments based on synergistic radiotherapy (RT), chemotherapy (CMT), and photodynamic therapy (PDT) to reshape the tumor microenvironment through synergistic immunotherapy (IMT) and to achieve precise tumor diagnosis using acoustic imaging. This review described the characteristics of PFCs to provide an update on the design of PFC delivery systems used for oxygen delivery and ultrasound imaging to facilitate the treatment and diagnosis of tumors. The objective was to contribute to overcoming the obstacles encountered during PFC research and provide the developing prospects.

PARVB promotes malignant melanoma progression and is enhanced by hypoxic conditions

“…Furthermore, HIFs augment angiogenesis and melanoma invasion through the orchestration of VEGF, NOTCH, and MAPK pathways [ 43 , 44 ]. Moreover, hypoxia influences both immune and non-immune cells within the tumor microenvironment, facilitating immune evasion and resistance to treatment [ 45 , 46 ]. By diminishing the activation and assimilation of tumor-infiltrating leukocytes, hypoxia engenders immunosuppression and impairs immune surveillance [47] .…”

Flavor-switchable scaffold for cultured meat with enhanced aromatic properties

“…Therefore, strategies for stable entrapment and controllable release of volatile small molecules have been developed. The emulsion and perfluorocarbon were representatives for physical retention 40 , 41 . Meanwhile, because these physical capsules degrade rapidly, the selective generation of the volatile small molecules is a challenge.…”

[18F]-Radiolabelled Nanoplatforms: A Critical Review of Their Intrinsic Characteristics, Radiolabelling Methods, and Purification Techniques

“…Perfluorocarbon (PFCD) droplets, also used in echography, further exhibit exquisite properties for 19 F MRI and as drug delivery vehicles [8,9]. Nanoemulsions of perfluorohexane stabilized by a perfluoro-surfactant (average size 175 nm) and nanoemulsions of perfluorooctylbromide stabilized by lipids (average size 260 nm) were radiolabelled to investigate their biodistribution in normal mice by PET [10].…”

“…Surprisingly, despite the huge amount of QDs produced and used in biomedicine since their discovery in the 1980s [96], few papers report their radiolabelling with 18 F. One such example concerns commercially available, amine-modified, CdTe/ZnS nanoparticles (QD705, Quantum Dot Corp., Hayward, CA, USA) that were developed as potential dualtargeting, dual-modality imaging probes [97]. Thus, their surface was functionalized with a synthetic peptide combining an RGD motif (cyclo(RGDYK)) and a truncated bombesin sequence (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). This allowed the recognition of both integrin αvβ3, overexpressed in a variety of solid tumour types, and gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPRs).…”