Fabrication and Evaluation of Ultrasound-Responsive Emulsion Loading Paclitaxel for Targeted Chemotherapy

Abstract

Chemotherapy is the most widely used cancer treatment, but it has several drawbacks, such as adverse side effects and low bioavailability. To address these limitations, various drug delivery systems have been investigated, including liposomes, micelles, and emulsions. These drug delivery technologies have been improving the efficacy and safety of conventional chemotherapy. This study presents an emerging drug delivery technology for targeted chemotherapy using drug-loaded ultrasound-responsive emulsion (URE) as a drug carrier and ultrasound technology for external activation. URE was designed to be responsive to ultrasound energy and fabricated using an emulsification technique. To investigate this technology, paclitaxel, as a model drug, was used and encapsulated into URE. The size distribution, morphology, and drug release behavior of paclitaxel-loaded URE (PTX-URE) were characterized, and the echogenicity of PTX-URE was assessed using ultrasound imaging equipment. The cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of PTX-URE with ultrasound were evaluated in breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231). Our in vitroresults indicate that the combination of PTX-URE and ultrasound significantly enhanced cellular uptake by 10.6-fold and improved cytotoxicity by 24.1% compared to PTX alone. These findings suggest that the URE platform combined with ultrasound is a promising technology to improve drug delivery efficiency for chemotherapy.

The Evolution of Sonochemistry: From the Beginnings to Novel Applications

“…This approach increased cellular uptake by 10.6 fold and enhanced cytotoxicity by 24.1 % compared to paclitaxel alone. [261] Another application of USI is in sonodynamic therapy, an effective method for introducing microbubbles into human tissues. Compared to ultrasound treatment alone, using sonosensitizers can increase the production of ROS and reduce the energy cost.…”