In recent years, studies have shown a close relationship between cardiomyocyte death and ferroptosis. Clioquinol (CQ) can inhibit ferroptosis. Porous lipid-poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microbubbles (MBs) were prepared by double emulsification (W 1 /O/W 2 ) using 1,2-dioctadecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phophocholine and PLGA as raw materials. Porous lipid-PLGA MBs were used as carriers to prepare CQ/PLGA MBs containing CQ. CQ/PLGA had the advantages of high drug loading, good biocompatibility, and sustained release. Our results showed that CQ/PLGA improved the effect of CQ and reduced its cytotoxicity. Under low-frequency ultrasound with certain parameters, CQ/PLGA showed steady-state cavitation, which increased the membrane permeability of mouse cardiomyocyte HL-1 to a certain extent and further prevented the process of ferroptosis in mouse cardiomyocyte HL-1.
Gambogic acid (GA) is a highly effective antitumor agent, and it is used for the treatment of a wide range of cancers. It is challenging to deliver drugs to the central nervous system due to the inability of GA to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Studies have shown that ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction can be used for transient and reversible BBB disruption, significantly facilitating intracerebral drug delivery. We first prepared GA–loaded porous-lipid microbubbles (GA porous-lipid/PLGA MBs), and an in vitro BBB model was established. The cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry. The results indicate that U251 human glioma cells were killed by focused ultrasound (FUS) combined with GA/PLGA microbubbles. FUS combined with GA/PLGA microbubbles was capable of locally and transiently enhancing the permeability of BBB under certain conditions. This conformational change allows the release of GA to extracellular space. This study provides novel targets for the treatment of glioma.