scholarly journals Promising Applications of Nanoparticles in the Treatment of Hearing Loss

Author(s):  
Zilin Huang ◽  
Qiang Xie ◽  
Shuang Li ◽  
Yuhao Zhou ◽  
Zuhong He ◽  
...  

Hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities affecting both children and adults worldwide. However, traditional treatment of hearing loss has some limitations, particularly in terms of drug delivery system as well as diagnosis of ear imaging. The blood–labyrinth barrier (BLB), the barrier between the vasculature and fluids of the inner ear, restricts entry of most blood-borne compounds into inner ear tissues. Nanoparticles (NPs) have been demonstrated to have high biocompatibility, good degradation, and simple synthesis in the process of diagnosis and treatment, which are promising for medical applications in hearing loss. Although previous studies have shown that NPs have promising applications in the field of inner ear diseases, there is still a gap between biological research and clinical application. In this paper, we aim to summarize developments and challenges of NPs in diagnostics and treatment of hearing loss in recent years. This review may be useful to raise otology researchers’ awareness of effect of NPs on hearing diagnosis and treatment.

1997 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. 567-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf Lehner ◽  
Heribert Brugger ◽  
Marcus M. Maassen ◽  
Hans-Peter Zenner

Local therapy of middle and inner ear diseases is being used, but is restricted to cases of ear drum perforation or to repeated invasive intratympanic drug application by the physician. In accordance with the Medical Device Directive (class III), a bone-anchored, totally implantable drug delivery system (TI-DDS) has been developed. It includes a micropump for subcutaneous, patient-controlled activation, a drug reservoir and a septum port. A thin guide-wired catheter leads from the pump outlet to the point of application in the mastoid or middle ear cavities. Local inner ear therapy with suitable drugs is possible by positioning the catheter's end near the round window membrane. The system requires no battery and will offer a wide range of patient-controlled bolus applications (25 μl per activation). We first analyzed the three-dimensional implantation geometry of the mastoid cavity. Basic micromechanical problems have been solved in order to create several prototypes. The TI-DDS has already undergone extensive in vitro testing. Recent results of pump rate precision and digital pressure force testing are promising. Local drug treatment for conditions such as lidocaine-sensitive tinnitus, secretory otitis media, Meniere's disease, localized pain and intralesional cancer is under discussion. Furthermore, local application of future biotechnological trophic factors for inner ear treatment is anticipated. The basic engineering is completed and initial animal tests are in preparation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1592-1603
Author(s):  
Zachary Shaw ◽  
Arth Patel ◽  
Thai Butcher ◽  
Tuhina Banerjee ◽  
Ren Bean ◽  
...  

New aliphatic pseudo-branched polyester copolymers are synthesized from diethylmalonate. The formulated nanomedicine successfully encapsulates therapeutic drug in higher dosage and deliver specifically to cancer cells for diagnosis and treatment.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (21) ◽  
pp. 5147
Author(s):  
Wanting Hou ◽  
Ruiqi Liu ◽  
Siwei Bi ◽  
Qian He ◽  
Haibo Wang ◽  
...  

Due to a strong retardation effect of o-nitrobenzyl ester on polymerization, it is still a great challenge to prepare amphiphilic block copolymers for polymersomes with a o-nitrobenzyl ester-based hydrophobic block. Herein, we present one such solution to prepare amphiphilic block copolymers with pure poly (o-nitrobenzyl acrylate) (PNBA) as the hydrophobic block and poly (N,N’-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) as the hydrophilic block using bulk reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of o-nitrobenzyl acrylate using a PDMA macro-RAFT agent. The developed amphiphilic block copolymers have a suitable hydrophobic/hydrophilic ratio and can self-assemble into photoresponsive polymersomes for co-loading hydrophobic and hydrophilic cargos into hydrophobic membranes and aqueous compartments of the polymersomes. The polymersomes demonstrate a clear photo-responsive characteristic. Exposure to light irradiation at 365 nm can trigger a photocleavage reaction of o-nitrobenzyl groups, which results in dissociation of the polymersomes with simultaneous co-release of hydrophilic and hydrophobic cargoes on demand. Therefore, these polymersomes have great potential as a smart drug delivery nanocarrier for controllable loading and releasing of hydrophilic and hydrophobic drug molecules. Moreover, taking advantage of the conditional releasing of hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs, the drug delivery system has potential use in medical applications such as cancer therapy.


2008 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. 706-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Paulson ◽  
Waleed Abuzeid ◽  
Hao Jiang ◽  
Tomoyuki Oe ◽  
Bert W. O'Malley ◽  
...  

Drug Delivery ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong-Kee Kim ◽  
Shi-Nae Park ◽  
Kyoung-Ho Park ◽  
Chan Woo Park ◽  
Keum-Jin Yang ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 824-832
Author(s):  
Zhenzhen Fan ◽  
Qingsheng Liu ◽  
Fangfang Lu ◽  
Zhihui Dong ◽  
Peng Gao

Liver cancer has a high incidence and a poor prognosis, which seriously affects human health. Doxorubicin is one of the chemotherapeutics used in the treatment of tumours, but its severe adverse reactions, especially cardiac toxicity, have limited its clinical application. The nanometre drug delivery system enables drug-loaded nanoparticles to be specifically concentrated in tumour tissues, increasing cell uptake and improving curative effect. Therefore, in this paper, folic acid-modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN-NH2-PEG-FA) were synthesized by modifying the folic acid on the surface of a drug carrier by using the characteristics of the expression of folic acid receptors, and using it as a drug. The carrier was loaded with antitumor drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), and a nanometre drug delivery system (MSN-NH2-PEG-FA/DOX) was constructed. At the same time, the near-infrared dye Cy5 was used to mark the mother nucleus to construct fluorescent nanoparticles (MSN-NH2-PEG-FA/DOX-Cy5) for cell and tumour imaging, so as to obtain the abdominal image of liver cancer patients, thereby realizing diagnosis and treatment. The research results show that the carrier can specifically gather in the liver area, reduce the distribution in the heart, reduce the toxic and side effects of drugs, and prolong the survival time of patients. The results of this study provide new ideas for the treatment of liver cancer, and provide a new theoretical basis and experimental basis for the study of inorganic nanomaterials as targeted drug delivery systems.


2004 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
pp. P260-P260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsuyoshi Endo ◽  
Takayuki Nakagawa ◽  
Tomoko Kita ◽  
Tae Soo Kim ◽  
Fukuichiro Iguchi ◽  
...  

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