Table 3.
Theranostic applications of ultrasound in clinics and nanomedicine.
| Type of application | Methodology utilized | Disease condition/process influenced | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neurological applications | Thermal ablation with high intensity ultrasound (1–3 MHz); Mechanical effect with medium intensity (>100 kHz); non-thermal effect (<100 kHz). Brain ablation with focused ultrasound | Parkinson's, essential tremors, pain, neuropsychiatric conditions | [205] |
| MR guided focused ultrasound | Essential tremors | [206,207] | |
| MR-guided pallidotomy with FUS | Parkinson's disease | [208] | |
| Focused ultrasound | Crossing blood brain barrier | [209] | |
| Focused ultrasound | Neurovascular conditions | [210] | |
| MR guided focused ultrasound | Angiogenesis during cerebral hemorrhagic stroke | ||
| Cardiovasular applications | Ultrasound in B-mode | Characterization vascular muscle walls | [211] |
| Ultrasound in M-mode | Blood vessel movements | [212] | |
| Doppler mode | Blood flow characteristics | [213] | |
| Phospholipid-based microbubbles enhanced ultrasound | Endocardial imaging | [214] | |
| ICAM-1 mediated targeting of endothelial cells | Ischemia | [215] | |
| P-selectin | Cardiac imaging | [216] | |
| Microbubble loaded VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and P-selectin | Atherosclerosis | [217] | |
| Fibrin targeted microbubble | Thromboembolism and acute coronary syndrome | [218] | |
| αIIbβ3 complex co-loaded with urokinase | Delivery to site of thrombus | [219] | |
| Microbubble loaded with oxygen dependent prolyl hydroxylase (PHD2) and matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP2) | Improvement in myocardial function and decrease in infarct | [220] | |
| Hepatic complications | Conventional US | Parenchymal morphological analysis, possible fibrosis, cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma and portal hypertension | [221] |
| Conventional US and sonographic hepatorenal index | Steatosis | [222] | |
| Acoustic structure quantification (ASQ) | Differentiation of fibrosis and steatosis | [223] | |
| Renal complications | Conventional US | Chronic kidney disease diagnosis | [224] |
| Conventional US | Renal lithiasis | [225] | |
| Color Doppler analyses | Blood flow characteristics and renal parenchymal perfusion | [226] | |
| Doppler studies | Blood velocity and alterations in renal vasculature, Resistive index | [227] | |
| Resistive index analysis | Renal vasculitis, Glomerulo/Lupus nephritis, diabetic neprhopathy | [228] | |
| Contrast enhanced ultrasound | Tubulointerstitial injury | [229] | |
| Cancer | Conventional US (intraoperative imaging) | Neurosurgery, Brain tumor resection surgery and management | [230] |
| Conventional US | Differentiation of malignant from normal/benign tissue | [231] | |
| Conventional US | Management of thyroid cancer, ovarian cancer (Differentiation of cystic composition and cancerous lesions in ovary), | [[232], [233], [234]] | |
| Conventional US | Prostate cancer diagnosis | [235] | |
| High intensity FUS | Treatment of urethral strictures or epididymitis during prostate cancer | [236] | |
| High intensity FUS and MRI guided HIFU | Tumor ablation | [[237], [238], [239]] | |
| HIFU | Liver tumor removal | [240] | |
| MR guided US | Bone metastases | [241] | |
| Nanoformulation | Microbubble and ultrasound (Interior gas phase mediated and exterior liquid phase mediated) | Nanoparticle synthesis | [242] |
| Ultrasound irradiation, cavitation of microbubbles | Nanoemulsification, exfoliation of multilayered particles | [243] | |
| Ultrasound treatment | Herceptin loaded graphene | [244] | |
| Ultrasound guided chemical co-precipitation | Hydroxyapatite/TiO2 nanocomposites | [245] | |
| Laser pyrolysis combined with ultrasonic nebulizer | Zinc containing nanoparticles or nanocomposites (ZnS, ZnF or ZnO) | [246] | |
| Ultrasound induced oxygen radical generation | Bovine serum albumin crosslinked microspheres | [247] | |
| Chemical effects of ultrasound | Plant-based oil and wheat germ agglutinin, starch-based nanoparticles | [248] | |
| ultrasonication | Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles containing nanocomposites composed of polymeric methyl methacrylate | [249] | |
| Therapy | Sonosensitization | Chemotherapeutic drugs and non-steroids anti-inflammatory drugs, porphyrins compounds, pyrrole derivatives, 5-aminolevulinic acid, cholrin E6, methylene blue | [250] |
| Ultrasonication | BBB permeability | [251] | |
| Ultrasonication mediated ROS generation | Glioma treatment | ||
| Sonodynamic therapy combined with immune and hormonal therapy | Breast cancer treatment | [252] | |
| Sonodynamic therapy | Liquid tumors | [253] | |
| Sonodynamic therapy mediated delivery of cyclosporin B | Actin inhibition and reduction of tumor growth | ||
| Sonodynamic therapy | Anti-microbial therapy and periodontitis | [254] | |
| Sonodynamic therapy | Treatment of atherosclerotic plaque | [255] | |
| Drug delivery | Pluronic P123/F127 loaded with curcumin | 4T1 breast cancer cell delivery and inhibition | [256] |
| DOX loaded PLA microbubbles; surface coated with TRAIL | MDA-MB-231 & MCF-7 cells-based tumor growth by site targeted delivery | [257] | |
| Gemcitabine encapsulated PLA bubble | Pancreatic cancer delivery | [258] | |
| Mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with plasmid DNA encapsulated in polymeric shell | Ovarian cancer delivery | [259] | |
| Loading O2 loaded microbubble coated with Span 60 and vitamin E | Oxygenation of breast cancer and making it radiosensitive | [260] | |
| Lipid-based microbubbles coated with chemotherapeutic drug encapsulated with perfluorobutane | Drug release and inhibition of tumor growth | [261] | |
| DOX-loaded liposomes coated with magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles were encapsulated with perfluorooctane | Drug release and inhibition of tumor growth | [262] | |
| Sonoporation with Optison, Definity, Lumason/SonoVue and Sonazoid | Deeper penetration of drugs | [263] |