Polysaccharide-Based Theranostic Systems for Combined Imaging and Cancer Therapy: Recent Advances and Challenges

Designing novel systems for efficient cancer treatment and improving the quality of life for patients is a prime requirement in the healthcare sector. In this regard, theranostics have recently emerged as a unique platform, which combines the benefits of both diagnosis and therapeutics delivery. Theranostics have the desired contrast agent...

Internalization of targeted microbubbles by endothelial cells and drug delivery by pores and tunnels

Ultrasound insonification of microbubbles can locally enhance drug delivery by increasing the cell membrane permeability. To aid development of a safe and effective therapeutic microbubble, more insight into the microbubble-cell interaction is needed. In this in vitro study we aimed to investigate the initial 3D morphology of the endothelial...

Atomic and Molecular Layer Deposition for Controlled Drug Delivery

The majority of pharmaceutical products is made of solid powders. The morphology and surface characteristics of drug particles affect both their bulk behaviour, e.g., flowability, dispersibility and tabletability, in the manufacturing process of dosage forms as well as their bioavailability upon administration into the human body. For instance,...

Nano-ghosts: Novel biomimetic nano-vesicles for the delivery of antisense oligonucleotides

Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) carry an enormous therapeutic potential in different research areas, however, the lack of appropriate carriers for their delivery to the target tissues is hampering their clinical translation. The present study investigates the application of novel biomimetic nano-vesicles, Nano-Ghosts (NGs), for the delivery...

Opening of endothelial cell–cell contacts due to sonoporation

Ultrasound insonification of microbubbles can locally increase vascular permeability to enhance drug delivery. To control and optimize the therapeutic potential, we need to better understand the underlying biological mechanisms of the drug delivery pathways. The aim of this in vitro study was to elucidate the microbubble-endothelial cell...

Ultrasound-Responsive Cavitation Nuclei for Therapy and Drug Delivery

Therapeutic ultrasound strategies that harness the mechanical activity of cavitation nuclei for beneficial tissue bio-effects are actively under development. The mechanical oscillations of circulating microbubbles, the most widely investigated cavitation nuclei, which may also encapsulate or shield a therapeutic agent in the bloodstream,...

High-Resolution Imaging of Intracellular Calcium Fluctuations Caused by Oscillating Microbubbles

Ultrasound insonification of microbubbles can locally enhance drug delivery, but the microbubble–cell interaction remains poorly understood. Because intracellular calcium (Ca_i ²⁺) is a key cellular regulator, unraveling the Ca_i ²⁺ fluctuations caused by an oscillating microbubble provides crucial...

Key characteristics and modelling of bigels systems: A review

Bigels are interesting semisolid formulations with better properties for different applications such as cosmetics and pharmaceutical systems. Due to the mixing of two phases of different nature (polar and apolar), bigels possess some interesting features like ability to deliver hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs, better spreadability and water...

Combined Confocal Microscope and Brandaris 128 Ultra-High-Speed Camera

Controlling microbubble-mediated drug delivery requires the underlying biological and physical mechanisms to be unraveled. To image both microbubble oscillation upon ultrasound insonification and the resulting cellular response, we developed an optical imaging system that can achieve the necessary nanosecond temporal and nanometer spatial...

Acoustic Characterization of the CLINIcell for Ultrasound Contrast Agent Studies

Ultrasound contrast agents consist of gas-filled coated microbubbles that oscillate upon ultrasound insonification. Their characteristic oscillatory response provides contrast enhancement for imaging and has the potential to locally enhance drug delivery. Since microbubble response depends on the local acoustic pressure, an ultrasound...

Chitosan cross-linked poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels: drug release control and mechanism

Chitosan has been used to cross-link poly(acrylic acid) to give three pH-sensitive hydrogels designed to control the release of the drugs amoxicillin and meloxicam. The extent of cross-linking and solution pH was found to dominate the swelling behavior of these hydrogels as shown by scanning electron microscopy and swelling time dependencies....