Ultrasound‐Mediated Release of Gaseous Signaling Molecules for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Although nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) have been considered as notorious gas pollutants for decades, they are considered as endogenous gaseous signaling molecules (GSMs), which have been widely recognized for their important signaling functions and prominent medical applications in human physiology. To achieve local delivery of GSMs to optimize therapeutic efficacy and reduce systemic side effects, stimuli‐responsive nanocarriers have been successfully developed. Among them, ultrasound is considered as an attractive theranostic modality that can be used to track drug carriers, trigger drug release, and improve drug deposition, etc. In this minireview, recent achievements in designing ultrasound‐responsive nanocarriers for the controlled delivery of GSMs and their biomedical applications are summarized. This emerging research direction enables the controlled delivery of GSMs to deep tissues, and the combination of ultrasound imaging techniques offers many possibilities for the fabrication of new theranostic platforms.

Nanopores/Nanochannels Based on Electrical and Optical Dual Signal Response for Application in Biological Detection†

“…Endogenous gas signaling molecules in organisms, such as nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), involved in regulation of vascular system, nervous system and immune reaction. [42][43][44] Li's research group was dedicated to using the electrical and optical dual signal detection platform to detect the NO. [45] As shown in Figure 4a, a reversible covalent reaction was used to build a NO-responsive system, which was composed of two parts: o-phenylenediamine (OPD) functioned as a specific NO-reactive group, and rhodamine (R-110) as a spiro ring cyclization/opening switch to realize the reversibility of the system.…”

Intelligent polymeric hydrogen sulfide delivery systems for therapeutic applications

“…Through the rational design of macromolecular architectures and the utilization of suitable H 2 S donors, the abilities to specifically target and selectively accumulate in lesions, as well as smartly respond to pathological microenvironments (pH [ 34 ], thiol containing compounds [ 35 ], enzyme [ 36 ], etc.) and exogenous stimuli (light [ 37 ], ultrasound [ 38 ], etc.) to release H 2 S in a controlled manner could be endowed.…”

Ultrasound-Induced Drug Release from Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogels

“…It enhances transdermal drug delivery, enhances uptake in cells and tissues, and facilitates wound healing [ 13 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Ultrasound provides the capability for a wide variety of applications in the biomedical field including imaging [ 22 ], clinical diagnosis [ 23 ], therapeutics delivery [ 20 , 24 , 25 ], detection [ 26 ], sensing [ 27 , 28 ], the initiation of chemical and biological processes [ 29 , 30 , 31 ], and the release of signaling molecules [ 32 ].…”