Ultrasonic nanoreactors: porous nanomaterials as multimodal platforms for precision ultrasound-responsive therapy and sonotherapy in nanomedicine

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive drug delivery is a refined strategy in drug delivery systems, with ultrasound (US) being a notable external stimulus. US, defined as sound waves with frequencies above 20 kHz, offers multiple advantages in biomedicine, such as minimal tissue disruption, real-time imaging, high versatility, deep-tissue penetration, and beneficial mechanical effects. Porous nanomaterials (PNs), including metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and others, possess high surface area to volume ratios, controllable pore sizes, and low densities. These properties make PNs highly promising for catalysis, gas storage, and especially drug delivery. In the interdisciplinary field of nanomedicine (NM), PNs sensitive to US have drawn increasing research attention, yet reviews on PNs-mediated therapy using US are scarce. This review systematically outlines the latest progress in US-triggered controlled release of cargoes from PNs. We first enumerate the synthesis methods of PNs, then summarize US-controlled therapies based on diverse mechanisms, namely sonodynamic, sonothermal, sonomechanical, or sono-combination therapies, and finally discuss the principal challenges and future prospects of PNs-mediated US-responsive therapy and sonotherapy.