Research shows how ultrasound can deliver therapeutic molecules into living cells

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Transmission electron micrograph showing a prostate cancer cell immediately after exposure to ultrasound. Image has been color enhanced to show to the spot where the cell membrane has been removed. Credit: Robyn Schlicher Robert Apkarian and Mark Bar ...
Transmission electron micrograph showing a prostate cancer cell immediately after exposure to ultrasound. Image has been color enhanced to show to the spot where the cell membrane has been removed. Credit: Robyn Schlicher, Robert Apkarian and Mark Baran

Researchers have shown how ultrasound energy can briefly "open a door" in the protective outer membranes of living cells to allow entry of drugs and other therapeutic molecules – and how the cells themselves can then quickly close the door. Understanding this mechanism could advance the use of ultrasound for delivering gene therapies, targeting chemotherapy and administering large-molecule drugs that cannot readily move through cell membranes.


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