Black Phosphorus Microbubbles Combined with Ultrasound for Treating Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common chronic central nervous system disorder that reduces quality of life and increases mortality. Currently, the treatment of PD is limited due to the challenge of macromolecular drugs crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Black phosphorus (BP) has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and shows potential for neuroprotection. To solve the restriction of the BBB, innovative BP microbubbles (BP@MBs) combined with focused ultrasound (FUS) are constructed to facilitate BBB opening. Additionally, the biocompatibility and safety of BP@MBs with varying dimensions are investigated, including BP quantum dot microbubbles (BPQDs@MBs) and BP nanosheet microbubbles (BPNSs@MBs). The findings indicate that low concentrations of BP have good biosafety and that BPQDs@MBs exhibit better biocompatibility than BPNSs@MBs both in vitro and in vivo at the same concentrations. Moreover, a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced PD cell model and an animal model are established to verify the anti-PD effects of BPQDs@MBs and BPNSs@MBs. The results confirmed that BPQDs@MBs and BPNSs@MBs have antioxidant effects that reduced neuronal apoptosis and improved the motor symptoms of PD in rats. BPQDs@MBs combined with FUS may be a promising option for the clinical treatment of PD.