Liposomal Encapsulation of Chemotherapeutics Agents Combined with the Use of Ultrasound in Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Ultrasound (US) has numerous uses in the medical field, including imaging, tumor ablation, and lithotripsy; another interesting application of US in cancer therapy is as an external trigger in targeted drug delivery. Cancer-targeted drug delivery involves delivering chemotherapeutic drugs to tumor sites with a high degree of precision, which would minimize the adverse side effects experienced by patients. Several nanocarriers have been studied as possible nanocarriers; however, liposomes stood out from the rest because of their non-immunogenicity, amphiphilic nature, ease of functionalization, and stimuli-responsiveness. This review addresses the role of US in the synthesis of liposomes, its ability to induce localized and controlled drug release from liposomes, as well as the integration of US-induced release and US-imaging using liposomes as contrast agents utilizing thermal and/or mechanical effects.