Small PLGA nanocapsules Co-encapsulating copper sulfide nanodots and fluorocarbon compound for photoacoustic imaging-guided HIFU synergistic therapy

Synergistic agents for tumor-specific therapy mediated by focused ultrasound treatment

This minireview highlights the recent advances in the therapeutic agents that aim to provide synergistic enhancements of focused ultrasound treatment of tumors. Even though focused ultrasound therapy itself can bring therapeutic effects in cancers, many biochemical agents have been reported in the literature to enhance the treatment efficacy significantly. Until now, many mechanisms have been researched to advance the therapy, such as sonodynamic-plus-chemo-therapy, microbubble-aided therapy, localized release or delivery of nanomaterials, and multimodal image-guided therapy. Here, the novel materials adopted in each mechanism are briefly reviewed to provide a trend in the field and encourage future research towards the successful deployment of focused ultrasound therapy in real clinical environments.

Curcumin-Loaded Nanoparticles with Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound-Induced Phase Transformation as Tumor-Targeted and pH-Sensitive Theranostic Nanoplatform of Ovarian Cancer

We have developed a simple and versatile nanoplatform using pH-sensitive ferritin nanocages co-loaded with the anticancer drug curcumin (Cur) and liquid fluorocarbon perfluorohexane (PFH) inside the core and conjugated tumor-targeting molecule FA outside the shell referred to as FA-FCP. The synthesized FA-FCP has an average particle diameter of 47 nm, with stable and favorable physicochemical properties in different media, and high biocompatibility and biosafety in vivo and in vitro. Under the conditions of low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) and at pH = 5.0, FA-FCP released a large amount of drugs (53.2%) in 24 h. After 4 min of LIFU (7 W) treatment, FA-FCP provided contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging capabilities at pH = 5.0. Due to FA receptor-mediated endocytosis, FA-FCP could efficiently enter the cells and further relocate to lysosomes. Eighteen hours after injection of FA-FCP, the tumor was stimulated by LIFU, resulting in a contrast-enhanced ultrasound image. In vivo and in vitro experiments showed that the combined use of FA-FCP and LIFU had significant tumor treatment effects. Based on the results, it was concluded that FA-FCP combined with the external LIFU and the endogenic acidic environment can have powerful theranostic functions and provide a novel type of non-invasive and integrated tumor theranostic option.

Nanomaterials for Nanotheranostics: Tuning Their Properties According to Disease Needs

Nanotheranostics is one of the biggest scientific breakthroughs in nanomedicine. Most of the currently available diagnosis and therapies are invasive, time-consuming, and associated with severe toxic side effects. Nanotheranostics, on the other hand, has the potential to bridge this gap by harnessing the capabilities of nanotechnology and nanomaterials for combined therapeutics and diagnostics with markedly enhanced efficacy. However, nanomaterial applications in nanotheranostics are still in its infancy. This is due to the fact that each disease has a particular microenvironment with well-defined characteristics, which promotes deeper selection criteria of nanomaterials to meet the disease needs. In this review, we have outlined how nanomaterials are designed and tailored for nanotheranostics of cancer and other diseases such as neurodegenerative, autoimmune (particularly on rheumatoid arthritis), and cardiovascular diseases. The penetrability and retention of a nanomaterial in the biological system, the therapeutic strategy used, and the imaging mode selected are some of the aspects discussed for each disease. The specific properties of the nanomaterials in terms of feasibility, physicochemical challenges, progress in clinical trials, its toxicity, and their future application on translational medicine are addressed. Our review meticulously and critically examines the applications of nanotheranostics with various nanomaterials, including graphene, across several diseases, offering a broader perspective of this emerging field.