Background:
Over the past ten years, tremendous progress has been made in microbubble-based research
for a variety of biological applications. Microbubbles emerged as a compelling and dynamic tool in
modern drug delivery systems. They are employed to deliver drugs or genes to targeted regions of interest, and
then ultrasound is used to burst the microbubbles, causing site-specific delivery of the bioactive materials.
Objective:
The objective of this article is to review the microbubble compositions and physiochemical characteristics
in relation to the development of innovative biomedical applications, with a focus on molecular imaging
and targeted drug/gene delivery.
Methods:
The microbubbles are prepared by using various methods, which include cross-linking polymerization,
emulsion solvent evaporation, atomization, and reconstitution. In cross-linking polymerization, a fine
foam of the polymer is formed, which serves as a bubble coating agent and colloidal stabilizer, resulting from
the vigorous stirring of a polymeric solution. In the case of emulsion solvent evaporation, there are two solutions
utilized in the production of microbubbles. In atomization and reconstitution, porous spheres are created
by atomising a surfactant solution into a hot gas. They are encapsulated in primary modifier gas. After the addition
of the second gas or gas osmotic agent, the package is placed into a vial and sealed after reconstituting
with sterile saline solution.
Results:
Microbubble-based drug delivery is an innovative approach in the field of drug delivery that utilizes
microbubbles, which are tiny gas-filled bubbles, act as carriers for therapeutic agents. These microbubbles can
be loaded with drugs, imaging agents, or genes and then guided to specific target sites.
Conclusion:
The potential utility of microbubbles in biomedical applications is continually growing as novel
formulations and methods. The versatility of microbubbles allows for customization, tailoring the delivery system
to various medical applications, including cancer therapy, cardiovascular treatments, and gene therapy.
