Low-frequency sonoporation for drug and gene delivery into cells
We investigate low-frequency sonoporation as a mechanism for enhanced drug and gene delivery into cells by using microbubble contrast agents which can be used to generate pores in cell membranes and enable the delivery of different therapeutic agents.
Ultrasound along with microbubbles can be used to generate pores in cell membranes and enable the delivery of different therapeutic agents. Upon ultrasound excitation, microbubbles cavitation applies mechanical forces on adjacent cell membranes and transiently form pores in the membrane, which facilitate local trans-membrane transport of drugs and genes that are usually impermeable to cells. Following insonation, the cell membrane can restore its integrity, and the delivered material remains trapped within the cell. A critical factor in efficient delivery is the size of the pores resulting from insonation relative to the size of the target cargo.
We perform optimization of insonation parameters to enable large microbubble oscillations which lead to increased sonoporation efficacy. We investigate the delivery of various materials with different sizes, starting from small molecules that can simulate chemotherapeutic drugs and up to sizes of proteins and genes. This can be implemented as a site specific delivery method for cancer treatment.
