title: Ultrasound-mediated local drug and gene delivery using nanocarriers.
abstract: With the development of nanotechnology, nanocarriers have been increasingly used for curative drug/gene delivery. Various nanocarriers are being introduced and assessed, such as polymer nanoparticles, liposomes, and micelles. As a novel theranostic system, nanocarriers hold great promise for ultrasound molecular imaging, targeted drug/gene delivery, and therapy. Nanocarriers, with the properties of smaller particle size, and long circulation time, would be advantageous in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Nanocarriers can pass through blood capillary walls and cell membrane walls to deliver drugs. The mechanisms of interaction between ultrasound and nanocarriers are not clearly understood, which may be related to cavitation, mechanical effects, thermal effects, and so forth. These effects may induce transient membrane permeabilization (sonoporation) on a single cell level, cell death, and disruption of tissue structure, ensuring noninvasive, targeted, and efficient drug/gene delivery and therapy. The system has been used in various tissues and organs (in vitro or in vivo), including tumor tissues, kidney, cardiac, skeletal muscle, and vascular smooth muscle. In this review, we explore the research progress and application of ultrasound-mediated local drug/gene delivery with nanocarriers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound Medicine, Laboratory of Ultrasound Molecular Imaging, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510150, China.
authors.forename: Qiu-Lan
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound Medicine, Laboratory of Ultrasound Molecular Imaging, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510150, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Yi
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yi-Xiang
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5697-0717
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound Medicine, Laboratory of Ultrasound Molecular Imaging, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510150, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound Medicine, Laboratory of Ultrasound Molecular Imaging, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510150, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0713-973X
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound Medicine, Laboratory of Ultrasound Molecular Imaging, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510150, China.
authors.forename: Yang-Ying
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5218-5113
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Liao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D006801:Humans; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D014465:Ultrasonics
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers