Quantitative analysis finds UTMD raises in vivo tissue transfection

Quantitative analysis published in the Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research indicates that ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) could have important applications in gene therapy.

According to the scientists behind the project, UTMD is capable of significantly raising the levels of tissue transfection achieved in vivo during gene therapy procedures.

With polyethylenimine (PEI) present in tumour xenografts, the link between UTMD and increased transfection can be measured at significant levels, the team write in their report.

They undertook the experiment because "non-invasive and tissue-specific technologies of gene transfection would be valuable in clinical gene therapy", using electrophoresis to carry out the quantitative analysis of UTMD and PEI's combined impact.

Research on the project was carried out by a team at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University in China.

The open-access Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research disseminates studies on basic, translational and clinical aspects of oncology care.