Gas-stabilizing nanoparticles for ultrasound imaging and therapy of cancer

Sinan Sabuncu, Adem Yildirim

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

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 languageEnglish (US)
Article number39
JournalNano Convergence
Volume8
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2021

Keywords

  • Cancer theranostics
  • Drug delivery
  • Focused ultrasound
  • Gas-stabilizing nanoparticles
  • Sonodynamic therapy
  • Tumor ablation
  • Ultrasound imaging

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science
  • General Engineering

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