Bioactive Nanotherapeutic Ultrasound Contrast Agent for Concurrent Breast Cancer Ultrasound Imaging and Treatment.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) plays a crucial role in cancer diagnosis. The use of ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) is inevitable in CEUS. However, current applications of UCAs primarily focus on enhancing imaging quality of ultrasound contrast rather than serving as integrated platforms for both diagnosis and treatment in clinical settings. In this study, we innovatively prepared a novel UCA, termed NPs-DPPA(C 3 F 8 ), using a combination of nanoprecipitation and ultrasound vibration methods. The DPPA lipid possesses inherent anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor activities, and when combined with C 3 F 8 , it functions as a theranostic agent. Notably, the preparation of NPs-DPPA(C 3 F 8 ) is straightforward, requiring only one hour from raw materials to the final product due to the use of a single material, DPPA. NPs-DPPA(C 3 F 8 ) exhibits inherent anti-angiogenic and biotherapeutic activities, effectively inhibiting triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) angiogenesis and reducing VEGFA expression both in vitro and in vivo. Clinically, NPs-DPPA(C 3 F 8 ) enables simultaneous real-time imaging, tumor assessment, and anti-tumor activity. Additionally, through ultrasound cavitation, NPs-DPPA(C 3 F 8 ) can overcome the dense vascular walls to increase accumulation at the tumor site and facilitate internalization by tumor cells. The successful preparation of NPs-DPPA(C 3 F 8 ) offers a novel approach for integrating clinical diagnosis and treatment of TNBC. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.