Transferrin Receptor-Targeted Nonspherical Microbubbles for Blood-Brain Barrier Sonopermeation.

ABSTRACT: Microbubbles (MB) are widely used for ultrasound (US) imaging and drug delivery. MB are typically spherically shaped, due to surface tension. When heated above their glass transition temperature, polymer-based MB can be mechanically stretched to obtain an anisotropic shape, endowing them with unique features for US-mediated blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeation. It is here shown that nonspherical MB can be surface-modified with BBB-specific targeting ligands, thereby promoting binding to and sonopermeation of blood vessels in the brain. Actively targeted rod-shaped MB are generated via 1D stretching of spherical poly(butyl cyanoacrylate) MB and via subsequently functionalizing their shell with antitransferrin receptor (TfR) antibodies. Using US and optical imaging, it is demonstrated that n

SUBMITTER: Dasgupta A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11238272 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature