Phase-changeable nanoparticle-mediated energy conversion promotes highly efficient high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation

This review describes how phase-changeable nanoparticles enable highly-efficient high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation (HIFU). HIFU is effective in the clinical treatment of solid malignant tumors; however, it has intrinsic disadvantages for treating some deep le-sions, such as damage to surrounding normal tissues. When phase-changeable nanoparticles are used in HIFU treatment, they could serve as good synergistic agents because they are transported in the blood and permeated and accumulated effectively in tissues. HIFU's ther-mal effects can trigger nanoparticles to undergo a special phase transition, thus enhancing HI-FU ablation efficiency. Nanoparticles can also carry anticancer agents and release them in the targeted area to achieve chemo-synergistic therapy response. Although the formation of nano-particles is complicated and HIFU applications are still in an early stage, the potential for their use in synergy with HIFU treatment shows promising results.

Automated summary

This review discusses how phase-changeable nanoparticles enable efficient high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation and their potential synergy with HIFU treatment.