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Design of Microbubbles for Gene/Drug Delivery

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Book cover Therapeutic Ultrasound

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 880))

Abstract

The role of ultrasound contrast agents (UCA) initially designed for diagnosis has evolved towards a therapeutic use. Ultrasound (US) for triggered drug delivery has many advantages. In particular, it enables a high spatial control of drug release, thus potentially allowing activation of drug delivery only in the targeted region, and not in surrounding healthy tissue. Moreover, UCA imaging can also be used firstly to precisely locate the target region to, and then used to monitor the drug delivery process by tracking the location of release occurrence. All these features make UCA and ultrasound attractive means to mediate drug delivery. The three main potential clinical indications for drug/gene US delivery are (i) the cardiovascular system, (ii) the central nervous system for small molecule delivery, and (iii) tumor therapy using cytotoxic drugs. Although promising results have been achieved in preclinical studies in various animal models, still very few examples of clinical use have been reported. In this chapter will be addressed the aspects pertaining to UCA formulation (chemical composition, mode of preparation, analytical methods…) and the requirement for a potential translation into the clinic following approval by regulatory authorities.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Novel agents Department, Bracco Suisse SA, Plan-Les-Ouates, Switzerland

    Thierry Bettinger

  2. Bracco Suisse SA, Plan-Les-Ouates, Switzerland

    François Tranquart

Authors
  1. Thierry Bettinger
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  2. François Tranquart
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Correspondence to Thierry Bettinger .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inserm U930 "Imagerie et Cerveau", Université François Rabelais de Tours - Faculté de Médecine, Tours Cedex 1, France

    Jean-Michel Escoffre

  2. Inserm U930 "Imagerie et Cerveau", Université François Rabelais de Tours - Faculté de Médecine, Tours Cedex 1, France

    Ayache Bouakaz

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Bettinger, T., Tranquart, F. (2016). Design of Microbubbles for Gene/Drug Delivery. In: Escoffre, JM., Bouakaz, A. (eds) Therapeutic Ultrasound. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 880. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22536-4_11

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