Title:Applications of Micro/Nanotechnology in Ultrasound-based Drug Delivery and Therapy for Tumor
Volume: 28
Issue: 3
Author(s): Suhui Sun, Ping Wang, Sujuan Sun and Xiaolong Liang*
Affiliation:
- Department of Ultrasound, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing,China
Keywords:
Micro/nanotechnology, ultrasound, drug release, ultrasound targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD),
high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), sonodynamic therapy (SDT).
Abstract: Ultrasound has been broadly used in biomedicine for both tumor diagnosis as well as therapy.
The applications of recent developments in micro/nanotechnology promote the development of
ultrasound-based biomedicine, especially in the field of ultrasound-based drug delivery and tumor
therapy. Ultrasound can activate nano-sized drug delivery systems by different mechanisms for ultrasound-
triggered on-demand drug release targeted only at the tumor sites. Ultrasound Targeted Microbubble
Destruction (UTMD) technology can not only increase the permeability of vasculature and cell
membrane via sonoporation effect but also achieve in situ conversion of microbubbles into nanoparticles
to promote cellular uptake and therapeutic efficacy. Furthermore, High Intensity Focused Ultrasound
(HIFU), or Sonodynamic Therapy (SDT), is considered to be one of the most promising and
representative non-invasive treatment for cancer. However, their application in the treatment process is
still limited due to their critical treatment efficiency issues. Fortunately, recently developed
micro/nanotechnology offer an opportunity to solve these problems, thus improving the therapeutic
effect of cancer. This review summarizes and discusses the recent developments in the design of micro-
and nano- materials for ultrasound-based biomedicine applications.