Listening to drug delivery and responses via photoacoustic imaging

Administrating pharmaceutic agents efficiently to achieve the therapeutic effect is the aim of all drug delivery techniques. Recent drug delivery systems aim to deliver high doses of drugs to disease sites accu-rately while maximizing therapeutic effects and minimizing potential side effects. Key approaches apply image guidance techniques for the quantification of drug biodistribution and pharmacokinetic parame-ters during drug delivery. This review highlights recent research on image-guided drug delivery systems based on photoacoustic imaging, which has been attracting attention for its non-invasiveness, non-ionizing radiation, and real-time imaging functions. Photoacoustic imaging based on the photothermal conversion efficiency of agents can be easily combined with various phototherapeutics, making them highly suitable for drug delivery therapy platforms. Here, we summarize and compare the characteristics of various types of photoacoustic imaging systems, focus on contrast-enhanced photoacoustic imaging and controlled release of therapeutics in drug delivery systems for synergistic therapies.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Administering pharmaceutic agents efficiently is the goal of drug delivery techniques. Image-guided drug delivery systems based on photoacoustic imaging have gained attention for their non-invasiveness, non-ionizing radiation, and real-time imaging functions. They offer a highly suitable platform for drug delivery therapy by combining with various phototherapeutics.