Using Microbubbles as Targeted Drug Delivery to Improve AIDS

Abstract

No preventive vaccines are available for the treatment of AIDS. To improve therapy, combinational antiretroviral drugs are given; however some patients develop resistance to particular combinational drug. Microbubble-mediated drug delivery technology solves the problem by reducing systemic dose and toxicity. Microbubbles are bubbles smaller than one millimeter in diameter but larger than one micrometer. The general composition of microbubble is gas core. The mechanism of microbubbles through which its delivery increases is sonoporation, the formation of openings in the vasculature, induced by ultrasound-triggered oscil-lations and destruction of microbubbles. Rapid isolation strategy of CD4+ cells is mixing blood and glass microbubbles which then bind with the specific target cells to the microbubble carrying specific antibodies on their surface. The target cells will spontaneously float to the top of the blood vial and can be quickly separated. The microbubbles are particularly used in the diagnosis of AIDS because of their cell isolation techniques which is rapid and inexpensive and their small size to pass through capillary for perfusion in tissue This review demonstrates the problems with the current treatment of the disease and shed light on the remarkable potential of microbubbles to provide more effective treatment and prevention for HIV/AIDS by advancing antiretroviral therapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy, vaccinology, and microbicides.