Search

Worldwide, two million two hundred thousand new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in 2020. Traditional breast cancer treatments have several side effects, such as poisoning of the heart and lung during chemotherapy and cardiovascular disease during radiotherapy. Moreover, many patients suffer from acute and chronic pain, loss of breast shape, and limited arm mobility after surgery. Researchers strive to reduce adverse effects by finding more effective strategies. Sonodynamic therapy is a newly developed cancer treatment that offers safety, high penetration depth into soft tissues, accessibility, affordability, etc. In addition to these benefits, sonodynamic therapy also enhances chemotherapy effectiveness. Therefore, the combination of sonodynamic therapy and chemotherapy along with a multifunctional sensitizer can enhance treatment effectiveness while minimizing side effects. In this study, PEGylated gold nanoparticles (PEG-GNPs) were synthesized and loaded with an anticancer agent, Gemcitabine (Gem-PEG-GNPs). The synthesized Gem-PEG-GNPs act as sonosensitizers and nanocarriers, which improve the efficacy of sonodynamic therapy and chemotherapy as well as reduce harmful effects. Ultrasound waves combined with Gem-PEG-GNPs increased apoptosis and decreased survival rates in MCF-7 cells. When Gem-PEG-GNPs and ultrasound waves were combined, a significant synergistic effect was observed compared to ultrasound waves alone. In conclusion, Gem-PEG-GNPs have the potential to be effective sonosensitizers and drug delivery agents in treatment of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multifaceted health benefits of curcumin (Curcuma longa), attributed to its antioxidant, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory activities, have drawn significant scientific attention. Curcumin shows promise as a potential modulator of macrophage polarization, offering a natural strategy for managing inflammation and promoting tissue repair. However, a limiting factor for this beneficial molecule is its limited bioavailability due to its low solubility in water. This study aimed to quantify the effect of curcumin gold nanoparticle (CurAuNP)-mediated ultrasound irradiation on THP-1-derived macrophages as potential therapeutic targets. The photoreduction method was applied to synthesize the gold nanoparticles with curcumin as a ligand (CurAu). The effect of adding polyethylene glycol in the synthesis process was studied (CurAuPEG). CurAuNP characterization included UV/Vis, Zeta potential, transmission electron microscopy, and FTIR. The amount of singlet oxygen released by curcumin and CurAuNPs was quantified by observing 1.3-diphenylisobenzofuran quenching upon ultrasound irradiation (1 MHz and 1 W/cm2). The results indicated that ultrasound therapy for 4 min with CurAuNPs significantly enhanced singlet oxygen generation and reduced macrophage viability compared to curcumin alone. The increased sonoluminescence and curcumin delivery facilitated by CurAuNPs led to greater curcumin activation. Consequently, CurAuNPs could offer promising therapeutic options for modulating macrophage polarization in pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has attracted great interest in the field of cancer therapy because of its non-invasiveness, deep penetration, and spatiotemporal controllability. However, the sonodynamic effect is severely hindered by hypoxia and a high glutathione (GSH) level in tumor microenvironment. In this work, a new type of nanohybrid sonosensitizer is designed, which incorporates several prominent advantages of organic, inorganic, and natural sonosensitizers for imaging-guided SDT and ferroptosis induction. As an endogenous transporter, hemoglobin (Hb) has dual functions of oxygen and iron supplement. Apparently, Hb can transport iron to the tumor site for Fe-dependent ferroptosis, yet this oxygen carrier is able to enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to oxygen-driven SDT. We innovatively hybridized Hb, sinoporphyrin sodium (DVDMS), and titanium dioxide (TiO2) to prepare an integrated nano-oxygen carrier (designated as HDT) for multifarious cancer theranostics, which not only attained satisfactory sonosensitization of DVDMS/TiO2 but also achieved oxygen-boosted SDT and potent ferroptosis via Hb. Under ultrasound irradiation, the oxygenation of HDT markedly amplified the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in hypoxic tumors, promoted the valence transition of Hb to accelerate Fenton reaction, and led to ferroptosis. This strategy virtually eradicated tumors in situ and exhibited immunoregulatory potential for augmenting anti-tumor effects in vivo and in vitro through ROS formation, O2 self-supplement, GSH depletion, and lipid peroxidation. Collectively, HDT demonstrated excellent dual-modal imaging performance, providing a valuable platform for photoacoustic/fluorescence-guided SDT and ferroptosis induction in tumor cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: As a non-invasive method of tumor hyperthermia, high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has been widely used in the treatment of various solid tumors in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of HIFU combined with ethanol on biological tissue lesions. Material and Methods: Firstly, 0.5ml 95% ethanol was injected into the porcine liver tissue in vitro, then HIFU was used to irradiate the porcine liver. The B-mode ultrasound and needle hydrophone were used to monitor the cavitation. A thermocouple was also used to measure the real-time focal temperature. The ultrasonic signal scattered at the focal point of HIFU irradiation was collected by the fiber hydrophone, and the attenuation coefficient was calculated. Finally, the attenuation coefficient was input into the Khokhlov-Zabolotskaya-Kuznetov (KZK) equation and combined with the Pennes equation. The thermal lesion of the porcine liver was simulated by MATLAB software. Results: The length of the long axis of the lesion area simulated by the attenuation coefficient of cavitation was closer to the length of the long axis of the actual measured lesion area with ethanol injection, but the length of the short axis of the simulated lesion area was smaller than that of the measured lesion area. However, the length of the long axis of the lesion area simulated by the attenuation coefficient of cavitation was larger than the length of the long axis of the lesion area simulated by the attenuation coefficient of liver at room temperature. The same results were obtained for the length of short axis. Conclusion: HIFU combined with ethanol can produce larger lesions to biological tissues and improve the therapeutic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]