Sonosensitive Cavitation Nuclei-A Customisable Platform Technology for Enhanced Therapeutic Delivery

Overview

Journal Molecules

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Biology

Date 2023 Dec 9

PMID 38067464

Authors

Brian Lyons

Joel P R Balkaran

Darcy Dunn-Lawless

Veronica Lucian

Sara B Keller

Colm S OReilly

Luna Hu

Jeffrey Rubasingham

Malavika Nair

Robert Carlisle

Eleanor Stride

Michael Gray

Constantin Coussios

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Ultrasound-mediated cavitation shows great promise for improving targeted drug delivery across a range of clinical applications. Cavitation nuclei-sound-sensitive constructs that enhance cavitation activity at lower pressures-have become a powerful adjuvant to ultrasound-based treatments, and more recently emerged as a drug delivery vehicle in their own right. The unique combination of physical, biological, and chemical effects that occur around these structures, as well as their varied compositions and morphologies, make cavitation nuclei an attractive platform for creating delivery systems tuned to particular therapeutics. In this review, we describe the structure and function of cavitation nuclei, approaches to their functionalization and customization, various clinical applications, progress toward real-world translation, and future directions for the field.

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