Ultrasound-mediated drug delivery in the combination with micro- and nanobubbles

Abstract

A stimuli-responsive carrier-based delivery system seems relatively easy to achieve the target-specific delivery depending on the application site of the physical energy. In particular, the ultrasound-mediated delivery has attracted attention due to its safety. The combination of ultrasound and micro/nanobubbles allows for enhanced effects not only of imaging but also of delivery of drug, gene, and nucleic acids. We previously developed nanobubbles entrapping ultrasound contrast gas in liposomes and evaluated the usability for gene and nucleic acids delivery to various disease models. In this review, we describe the current status of the use of ultrasound in the medical field, and introduce the ultrasound-mediated delivery of drug, gene, and nucleic acids containing our research.