Ultrasound-Mediated Drug Delivery


The goal of this research is to develop a robust, ultrasound-mediated method for targeted delivery of compounds into cells for cancer treatment and other applications. Ultrasound can be
temporally and spatially controlled, and can be safely applied repeatedly if needed, thus provides a non-invasive means of boosting intracellular drug delivery that can be more advantageous for clinical applications. However, challenges remain for the development of ultrasound-mediated delivery strategy in part because the intravenously injected drug is difficult to localize in effective concentrations at the target site, and the mechanism of sonoporation is not completely understood. As a result, consistent and controllable outcome of ultrasound delivery has not been attained. In this research we use an interdisciplinary approach to develop a local ultrasound-mediated drug release system where the site-specific release of the drug from an injectable, biodegradable polymer matrix will be driven by ultrasound, and the drug uptake into the cell will be enhanced by ultrasound-induced sonoporation. We hypothesize that drug release and cell uptake of the drug will be superior to either an implant working via passive diffusion or sonoporation following intravenous drug administration. Our central hypothesis for this research is therefore as follows: Ultrasound can be used successfully in combination with site-specific drug delivery as a highly-controllable targeted delivery strategy of drugs, proteins, genes, and other compounds into viable cells and organs for therapeutic purposes. The successful completion of this research will establish a solid foundation for developing an US-based strategy for targeted delivery of compounds into cells and organs for cancer therapy.



The efficient delivery of a drug to its designated site of action is a challenging, multifaceted bioengineering problem. Although the issue is associated with most therapeutics, it is particularly complex in the field of cancer chemotherapy. Through a multidisciplinary approach uniting research in cancer biology, interventional radiology, targeted drug delivery and biomedical engineering, we propose to develop a minimally invasive drug delivery system for local cancer treatment. Specifically, this project focuses on the development of functional polymer matrixes for image guided, site-specific, delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to solid tumors that will address the challenges of systemic chemotherapy and already available local treatment options. This comprehensive drug delivery system will possess numerous advantages over existing treatment approaches, with the highlight being its use of various medical imaging modalities for minimally invasive placement, characterization and therapeutic evaluation. The multidisciplinary partnership will result in the development of a highly effective delivery system for site-specific treatment of cancer, demonstrate the potential of medical imaging in chemotherapy, and lead to enhanced understanding of cancer and paths leading to its eradication.