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Review
. 2023 Nov 23;28(23):7733.
doi: 10.3390/molecules28237733.

Sonosensitive Cavitation Nuclei-A Customisable Platform Technology for Enhanced Therapeutic Delivery

Brian Lyons  1 , Joel P R Balkaran  1 , Darcy Dunn-Lawless  1 , Veronica Lucian  1 , Sara B Keller  1 , Colm S O'Reilly  2 , Luna Hu  1 , Jeffrey Rubasingham  1 , Malavika Nair  1 , Robert Carlisle  1 , Eleanor Stride  1 , Michael Gray  1 , Constantin Coussios  1
Affiliations
Review

Sonosensitive Cavitation Nuclei-A Customisable Platform Technology for Enhanced Therapeutic Delivery

Brian Lyons et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Ultrasound-mediated cavitation shows great promise for improving targeted drug delivery across a range of clinical applications. Cavitation nuclei-sound-sensitive constructs that enhance cavitation activity at lower pressures-have become a powerful adjuvant to ultrasound-based treatments, and more recently emerged as a drug delivery vehicle in their own right. The unique combination of physical, biological, and chemical effects that occur around these structures, as well as their varied compositions and morphologies, make cavitation nuclei an attractive platform for creating delivery systems tuned to particular therapeutics. In this review, we describe the structure and function of cavitation nuclei, approaches to their functionalization and customization, various clinical applications, progress toward real-world translation, and future directions for the field.

Keywords: cavitation; cavitation nuclei; drug delivery; nanoparticles; sonosensitive; ultrasound.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Therapeutic impact of cavitation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Types of cavitation nuclei.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Cavitation nuclei therapeutic variables for enhancing delivery of therapeutics.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Key ultrasound parameters for drug delivery.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Generalized US parameter ranges by CN application.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Overview of a potential sonosensitive cavitation nuclei delivery system.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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