Glycol Chitosan Amphiphile Nanotheranostic System for Ultrasound-Mediated Localized Release and Biodistribution of Doxorubicin

Ultrasound-mediated delivery has garnered attention as a noninvasive modality for localized drug delivery in cancer. Doxorubicin, a chemotherapeutic drug, shows low penetration, nonspecific distribution, and uncontrolled release. We have synthesized a hydrophobic doxorubicin (hDox)-loaded palmitoyl-modified glycol chitosan amphiphile (PmGCA) polymer-based nanotheranostic drug delivery system (hDox-NDS) for ultrasound (US)-mediated release. PmGCA encapsulates 210 μg/mL hDox in 90 ± 15 nm cationic micelles. The reappearance of the Dox fluorescence peak after 2 MHz US exposure confirms the encapsulated drug release. hDox-NDS display a considerable drug release ( 30 to 50