ry. Various nanocarriers are being introduced and assessed, such as polymer nanoparticles, liposomes, and micelles. As a novel theranostic system, nanocarriers hold great promise for ultrasound molecular imaging, targeted drug/gene delivery, and therapy. Nanocarriers, with the properties of smaller particle size, and long circulation time, would be advantageous in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Nanocarriers can pass through blood capillary walls and cell membrane walls to deliver drugs. The mechanisms of interaction between ultrasound and nanocarriers are not clearly understood, which may be related to cavitation, mechanical effects, thermal effects, and so forth. These effects may induce transient membrane permeabilization (sonoporation) on a single cell level, cell death, and disruption of tissue structure, ensuring noninvasive, targeted, and efficient drug/gene delivery and therapy. The system has been used in various tissues and organs (in vitro or in vivo), including tumor tissues, kidney, cardiac, skeletal muscle, and vascular smooth muscle. In this review, we explore the research progress and application of ultrasound-mediated local drug/gene delivery with nanocarriers. PMID:25202710
Full Text Available With the development of nanotechnology, nanocarriers have been increasingly used for curative drug/gene delivery. Various nanocarriers are being introduced and assessed, such as polymer nanoparticles, liposomes, and micelles. As a novel theranostic system, nanocarriers hold great promise for ultrasound molecular imaging, targeted drug/gene delivery, and therapy. Nanocarriers, with the properties of smaller particle size, and long circulation time, would be advantageous in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Nanocarriers can pass through blood capillary walls and cell membrane walls to deliver drugs. The mechanisms of interaction between ultrasound and nanocarriers are not clearly understood, which may be related to cavitation, mechanical effects, thermal effects, and so forth. These effects may induce transient membrane permeabilization (sonoporation on a single cell level, cell death, and disruption of tissue structure, ensuring noninvasive, targeted, and efficient drug/gene delivery and therapy. The system has been used in various tissues and organs (in vitro or in vivo, including tumor tissues, kidney, cardiac, skeletal muscle, and vascular smooth muscle. In this review, we explore the research progress and application of ultrasound-mediated local drug/gene delivery with nanocarriers.
Varum, F J O; Hatton, G B; Basit, A W
Gastrointestinal physiology is dynamic and complex at the best of times, and a multitude of known variables can affect the overall bioavailability of drugs delivered via the oral route. Yet while the influences of food and beverage intake as just two of these variables on oral drug delivery have been extensively documented in the wider literature, specific information on their effects remains sporadic, and is not so much contextually reviewed. Food co-ingestion with oral dosage forms can mediate several changes to drug bioavailability, yet the precise mechanisms underlying this have yet to be fully elucidated. Likewise, the often detrimental effects of alcohol (ethanol) on dosage form performance have been widely observed experimentally, but knowledge of which has only moderately impacted on clinical practice. Here, we attempt to piece together the available subject matter relating to the influences of both solid and liquid foodstuffs on the gastrointestinal milieu and the implications for oral drug delivery, with particular emphasis on the behaviour of modified-release dosage forms, formulation robustness and drug absorption. Providing better insight into these influences, and exemplifying cases where formulations have been developed or modified to circumvent their associated problems, can help to appropriately direct the design of future in vitro digestive modelling systems as well as oral dosage forms resilient to these effects. Moreover, this will help to better our understan