Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2146 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T1Z3.
We have previously reported enhanced cytotoxic effects of both doxorubicin and antisense oligonucleotides using an optimized ultrasound regime of a single 10s exposure in burst-mode (4MHz, 32W/cm(2)(SaTa), 50ms burst period) in both PC3 (prostate cancer) cells and angiogenic Huvec (human umbilical cord endothelial cells). The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of ultrasound on the cellular uptake of both hydrophilic agents (rhodamine R123, doxorubicin hydrochloride and mannitol) and hydrophobic agents (rhodamine R6G and paclitaxel) using the same 4MHz ultrasound exposure system.
PC3 cells and Huvec were incubated with solutions of radioactive or fluorescent compounds for 1h and ultrasound was then applied to cells. Following washing and lysis of cells, the degree of drug uptake was measured using liquid scintillation counting or fluorescence spectroscopy.
Ultrasound exposure resulted in the enhanced uptake of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds into cells. For paclitaxel, approximately 100% increased uptake was observed when the drug was encapsulated in a nanoparticulate micellar formulation compared to approximately 50% for free drug.
The 4MHz, 32W/cm(2) ultrasound exposure regime (using burst-mode with 50ms burst period) allows for the enhanced uptake of both water soluble and insoluble compounds into proliferating cancer and angiogenic cells.
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Jackson JK, Pirmoradi FN, Wan CP, Siu T, Chiao M, Burt HM. Are you the author?
Reference: Ultrasonics. 2011 May 19. Epub ahead of print.
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 21663929
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