ijms-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Theranostic Ultrasound Contrast Agents in Medical Applications

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2022) | Viewed by 5763

Special Issue Editor

1. Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Sorbonne Universités, 75005 Paris, France
2. Nanobacterie, 36 boulevard Flandrin, 75116 Paris, France
Interests: nanomedicine; nano-oncology; nanotechnology; magnetososomes; natural nanoparticle; cancer; iron oxide nanoparticles

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A contrast agent is a substance used to increase the contrast of structures or fluids within the body in medical imaging.

Contributions are welcome concerning the following various topics regarding their use in treatment or application, supported by various molecular biology aspects/approaches:

  • TUCAs (Theranostic Ultrasound Contrast Agents) combined with nanomaterials;
  • The activation of TUCAs against pathological cells;
  • TUCA-dependent immune activation against a disease;
  • The various diseases that can be treated by TUCAs, (e.g., cancer, bacterial infections, repair of diseased heart blood vessels, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease);

For this Special Issue, we welcome your contributions in the form of original research and review articles covering any molecular aspect of TUCAs.

Prof. Dr. Edouard Alphandery
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • TUCAs
  • nanomaterials
  • pathological cells
  • cancer
  • diseased heart blood vessels
  • neurological diseases

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 8033 KiB  
Article
Specific Forms of Graphene Quantum Dots Induce Apoptosis and Cell Cycle Arrest in Breast Cancer Cells
by Tien-Hsiung Ku, Wen-Ting Shen, Chien-Te Hsieh, Grace Shiahuy Chen and Wei-Chung Shia
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(4), 4046; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms24044046 - 17 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1803
Abstract
Graphene quantum dots (GQDs), nanomaterials derived from graphene and carbon dots, are highly stable, soluble, and have exceptional optical properties. Further, they have low toxicity and are excellent vehicles for carrying drugs or fluorescein dyes. Specific forms of GQDs can induce apoptosis and [...] Read more.
Graphene quantum dots (GQDs), nanomaterials derived from graphene and carbon dots, are highly stable, soluble, and have exceptional optical properties. Further, they have low toxicity and are excellent vehicles for carrying drugs or fluorescein dyes. Specific forms of GQDs can induce apoptosis and could be used to treat cancers. In this study, three forms of GQDs (GQD (nitrogen:carbon = 1:3), ortho-GQD, and meta-GQD) were screened and tested for their potential to inhibit breast cancer cell (MCF-7, BT-474, MDA-MB-231, and T-47D) growth. All three GQDs decreased cell viability after 72 h of treatment and specifically affected breast cancer cell proliferation. An assay for the expression of apoptotic proteins revealed that p21 and p27 were up-regulated (1.41-fold and 4.75-fold) after treatment. In particular, ortho-GQD-treated cells showed G2/M phase arrest. The GQDs specifically induced apoptosis in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cell lines. These results indicate that these GQDs induce apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest in specific breast cancer subtypes and could potentially be used for treating breast cancers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theranostic Ultrasound Contrast Agents in Medical Applications)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

25 pages, 2380 KiB  
Review
Nanomaterials as Ultrasound Theragnostic Tools for Heart Disease Treatment/Diagnosis
by Edouard Alphandéry
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(3), 1683; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms23031683 - 31 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3561
Abstract
A variety of different nanomaterials (NMs) such as microbubbles (MBs), nanobubbles (NBs), nanodroplets (NDs), and silica hollow meso-structures have been tested as ultrasound contrast agents for the detection of heart diseases. The inner part of these NMs is made gaseous to yield an [...] Read more.
A variety of different nanomaterials (NMs) such as microbubbles (MBs), nanobubbles (NBs), nanodroplets (NDs), and silica hollow meso-structures have been tested as ultrasound contrast agents for the detection of heart diseases. The inner part of these NMs is made gaseous to yield an ultrasound contrast, which arises from the difference in acoustic impedance between the interior and exterior of such a structure. Furthermore, to specifically achieve a contrast in the diseased heart region (DHR), NMs can be designed to target this region in essentially three different ways (i.e., passively when NMs are small enough to diffuse through the holes of the vessels supplying the DHR, actively by being associated with a ligand that recognizes a receptor of the DHR, or magnetically by applying a magnetic field orientated in the direction of the DHR on a NM responding to such stimulus). The localization and resolution of ultrasound imaging can be further improved by applying ultrasounds in the DHR, by increasing the ultrasound frequency, or by using harmonic, sub-harmonic, or super-resolution imaging. Local imaging can be achieved with other non-gaseous NMs of metallic composition (i.e., essentially made of Au) by using photoacoustic imaging, thus widening the range of NMs usable for cardiac applications. These contrast agents may also have a therapeutic efficacy by carrying/activating/releasing a heart disease drug, by triggering ultrasound targeted microbubble destruction or enhanced cavitation in the DHR, for example, resulting in thrombolysis or helping to prevent heart transplant rejection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theranostic Ultrasound Contrast Agents in Medical Applications)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop