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Highly uniform ultrasound-sensitive nanospheres produced by a pH-induced micelle-to-vesicle transition for tumor-targeted drug delivery

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Abstract

Although gas-filled microbubbles with high echogenicity are widely applied inclinical ultrasonography, the micron scale particle size impedes their use in the treatment of solid tumors,which are accessible to objects less than several hundred nanometers. We herein propose an unusual approach involving apH-induced core–shell micelle-to-vesicle transition to prepare ultrasound-sensitive polymeric nanospheres (polymersomes in structure) possessing multiple features, including nanosize, monodispersity, and incorporation of a phase-transitional imaging agent into the aqueous lumen. These features are not achievable via the conventional double-emulsion method for polymersome preparation. The nanospheres were constructed based on a novel triblock copolymer with dual pH sensitivity. The liquid-to-gas phase transition of the imaging agent induced by external low-frequency ultrasound may destroy the nanospheres for a rapid drug release, with simultaneous tissue-penetrating drug delivery inside a tumor. These effects may provide new opportunities for the development of an effective cancer therapy with few adverse effects.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Yiru Wang, Tinghui Yin, and Zhenwei Su contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Liver Disease and Department of Medical Ultrasonics, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, China

    Yiru Wang, Tinghui Yin, Chen Qiu, Rongqin Zheng & Xintao Shuai

  2. PCFM Lab of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Yiru Wang, Tinghui Yin, Zhenwei Su, Yong Wang, Rongqin Zheng & Xintao Shuai

  3. State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macau, 999078, China

    Meiwan Chen

Authors
  1. Yiru Wang
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  2. Tinghui Yin
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  3. Zhenwei Su
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  4. Chen Qiu
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  5. Yong Wang
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  6. Rongqin Zheng
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  7. Meiwan Chen
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  8. Xintao Shuai
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Rongqin Zheng or Xintao Shuai.

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12274_2017_1939_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Highly uniform ultrasound-sensitive nanospheres produced by a pH-induced micelle-to-vesicle transition for tumor-targeted drug delivery

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Wang, Y., Yin, T., Su, Z. et al. Highly uniform ultrasound-sensitive nanospheres produced by a pH-induced micelle-to-vesicle transition for tumor-targeted drug delivery. Nano Res. 11, 3710–3721 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1939-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1939-y

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