The present invention relates generally to methods and materials for use in photothermal or sonodynamic therapy. The invention novel nanoparticles for use in delivering sensitizers to solid tumour target, wherein the nanoparticles are composed of a polymers or co-polymer of monomers linked by peptide bonds, wherein the polymer or co-polymer comprises one or both of glutamate or derivatised glutatamic acid, and optionally a further, different, monomer which is a naturally occurring amino acid or synthetic monomer having a side chain group, wherein the polymer or co-polymer is not composed only of glutamate. The pendant groups and/or side chains of the polymer or co-polymer interact non-covalently with the sensitizer.

The systems and methods disclosed herein relate generally to microbubble-assisted delivery of a therapeutic agent, such as a chemotherapeutic agent, to cells or tissue of interest, either in vitro or in vivo, that can be activated by directed ultrasound irradiation. For example, hydrophobic sonosensitizers can be incorporated in microbubble complexes to provide improved sonodynamic therapies.

Disclosed is a composite amphiphilic peptide nanomicelle, the preparation method and application, as to a novel integrin .sub.v.sub.3-targeted amphiphilic peptide nanomicelles, the applications in fluorescence imaging, photodynamic therapy, sonodynamic therapy and combined treatments. Based on the prominent properties of integrin .sub.v.sub.3-targeted amphiphilic peptide nanomicelles such as great biocompability, fluorescence imaging of encapsulated materials, photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy, it is promising to be widely used in the field of labeling and tracing in vivo, biomedical imaging, early detection and treatment for tumor. It has good economic and social benefits in terms of life health and personalized medicine.

Disclosed are methods of producing ultrasound waves for providing sonodynamic therapy. The method includes coupling a sonodynamic therapy device with an array of piezoelectric transducer elements to a skin surface. A controller is configured to generate an electrical drive signal to produce ultrasound waves to activate a sonosensitizer in a treatment region without damaging healthy cells in the treatment region.

The invention provides compositions featuring TRP-4 polypeptides and polynucleotides, methods for expressing such polypeptides and polynucleotides in a cell type of interest, and methods for inducing the activation of the TRP-4 polypeptide in neurons and other cell types using ultrasound.

Described herein are compounds for the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of specific diseased tissues, including hyper-proliferative tissues such as tumors, and other tissue diseased with microbial and/or infectious species, using energy-activation methods. In particular, compounds sensitive to externally applied energy, including light and/or ultrasound; that also specifically accumulate in diseased target tissue, are provided.

The invention relates to microbubble complexes for use in methods of sonodynamic therapy which comprise a microbubble attached to or otherwise associated with one or more linking groups, each linking group being bound to at least one sonosensitising agent and at least one chemotherapeutic agent. It further relates to the microbubble complexes themselves and to pharmaceutical compositions which contain them. The invention is particularly suitable for the treatment of deep-sited tumors, in particular pancreatic cancer.

In alternative embodiments, provided are compositions, including products of manufacture and kits, and methods, for remotely-controlled and non-invasive manipulation of intracellular nucleic acid expression, genetic processes, function and activity in live cells, e.g., adding functions or changing or adding specificities for immune cells, for monitoring physiologic processes, for the correction of pathological processes and for control of therapeutic outcomes. In alternative embodiments, provided are ultrasound-based thermal or mechanical stimulations, and thermo- or mechano-sensitive protein, either synthetically engineered or natively (endogenously) occurring, integrated to control the production of intracellular nucleic acid and gene expression, e.g., for the expression of biological-active proteins, which can be used, in alternative embodiments, for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. In alternative embodiments, exemplary thermo- and mechanogenetic systems provided herein allow a deep penetration of stimulation and manipulation in vivo at centimeter-level depth with high spatiotemporal precision.

The invention relates to microbubble complexes for use in methods of sonodynamic therapy which comprise a microbubble attached to or otherwise associated with one or more linking groups, each linking group being bound to at least one sonosensitising agent and at least one chemotherapeutic agent. It further relates to the microbubble complexes themselves and to pharmaceutical compositions which contain them. The invention is particularly suitable for the treatment of deep-sited tumors, in particular pancreatic cancer.

The invention provides CaO.sub.2 nanoparticles having a pH-responsive coating for use in a method of adjuvant therapy of hypoxic tumour cells or tissues. The nanoparticles find particular use in enhancing cancer therapies that depend on oxygen to exert their effect, such as photodynamic therapy (PDT), sonodynamic therapy (SDT), and radiotherapy. The invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions containing the coated CaO.sub.2 nanoparticles, together with at least one photosensitiser, sonosensitiser, or radiosensitiser and, optionally, at least one pharmaceutical carrier or excipient.