Figure 1.

Sonoporation mechanisms for therapeutic delivery. (a) Sonoporation for drug delivery. Drugs can be delivered by sonoporation. Microbubbles with drug attached to the surface or enclosed within the particle travel in capillaries. Upon US exposure MBs rupture, releasing the drug contents. Drugs are absorbed by the target tissue. (b) Sonoporation for gene delivery. When plasmid-DNA-(pDNA-) containing MBs are passed through blood vessels adjacent to tumor cells, US waves rupture MB and release pDNA. Released pDNA penetrates into cells through their membranes by sonoporation. Reproduced with permission from [5].