Abstract
The use of ultrasound in the clinic has been long established for cancer detection and image-guided tissue biopsies. In addition, ultrasound-based methods have been widely explored to develop more effective cancer therapies such as localized drug delivery, sonodynamic therapy, and focused ultrasound surgery. Stabilized fluorocarbon microbubbles have been in use as contrast agents for ultrasound imaging in the clinic for several decades. It is also known that microbubble cavitation could generate thermal, mechanical, and chemical effects in the tissue to improve ultrasound-based therapies. However, the large size, poor stability, and short-term cavitation activity of microbubbles limit their applications in cancer imaging and therapy. This review will focus on an alternative type of ultrasound responsive material; gas-stabilizing nanoparticles, which can address the limitations of microbubbles with their nanoscale size, robustness, and high cavitation activity. This review will be of interest to researchers who wish to explore new agents to develop improved methods for molecular ultrasound imaging and therapy of cancer.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 39 |
| Journal | Nano Convergence |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2021 |
Keywords
- Cancer theranostics
- Drug delivery
- Focused ultrasound
- Gas-stabilizing nanoparticles
- Sonodynamic therapy
- Tumor ablation
- Ultrasound imaging
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Science(all)
- Engineering(all)