Advanced Microbubbles as a Multifunctional Platform Combining Imaging and Therapy

Abstract

Microbubbles as traditional ultrasound contrast agents have seen tremendous developments and bio-applications in the past decades. Due to their outstanding performance, advanced microbubbles as a multifunctional platform combining both imaging and therapy have been increasingly attracting attention. Associated with ultrasound-mediated stimuli, targeting drug transportation with high precision can be established and, as a consequence, a synergistic treatment strategy may prevail, which implies a bright perspective for this brand-new technology. This perspective article will summarize the latest developments on the advanced microbubbles, and review their emerging biomedical applications for the vast community of both applied ultrasound and functional ultrasound-based materials.

Keywords

• ultrasound
• microbubbles
• multifunctional
• UTMD
• targeted therapy