Functional micro/nanobubbles for ultrasound medicine and visualizable guidance

Abstract

Chemically functionalized gas-filled bubbles with a versatile micro/nano-sized scale have witnessed a long history of developments and emerging applications in disease diagnosis and treatments. In combination with ultrasound and image-guidance, micro/nanobubbles have been endowed with the capabilities of biomedical imaging, drug delivery, gene transfection and disease-oriented therapy. As an external stimulus, ultrasound (US)-mediated targeting treatments have been achieving unprecedented efficiency. Nowadays, US is playing a crucial role in visualizing biological/pathological changes in lives as a reliable imaging technique and a powerful therapeutic tool. This review retrospects the history of ultrasound, the chemistry of functionalized agents and summarizes recent advancements of functional micro/nanobubbles as US contrast agents in preclinical and trans-clinical research. Latest ultrasound-based treatment modalities in association with functional micro/nanobubbles have been highlighted as their great potentials for disease precision therapy. It is believed that these state-of-the-art micro/nanobubbles will become a booster for ultrasound medicine and visualizable guidance to serve future human healthcare in a more comprehensive and practical manner.

How Could Nanomedicine Improve the Safety of Contrast Agents for MRI during Pregnancy?

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Nanomaterials‐Mediated Structural and Physiological Modulation of Blood Brain Barrier for Therapeutic Purposes

“…[ 63 ] Researchers also believe that micro/nanobubbles are very promising for ultrasound aided medicines and imaging across BBB. [ 64 ]…”

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“…Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a new non-invasive treatment strategy. [1][2][3][4] It uses ultrasound (US) to trigger the sensitizer to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) to kill cancer cells. [5][6][7] Compared with light, US shows deeper tissue permeability, which has great advantages in the treatment of deep tumours.…”

“…11,12 Therefore, designing and developing excellent sonosensitizers is a crucial topic in the development of SDT. Recently, many nano-sonosensitizers showed superior physiochemical properties, 4 but the clinical translation remained unresolved because of nonbiodegradation and uncertain composition. In contrast, small molecule sonosensitizers have the advantages of clear structure and easy metabolism, which are conducive to clinical applications.…”