Opening A Door Into Cells: Research Shows How Ultrasound Can Deliver Therapeutic Molecules into Living Cells

Researchers have shown how ultrasound energy can briefly “open a door” in the protective outer membranes of living cells to allow entry of drugs and other therapeutic molecules – and how the cells themselves can then quickly close the door. Understanding this mechanism could advance the use of ultrasound for delivering gene therapies, targeting chemotherapy and administering large-molecule drugs that cannot readily move through cell membranes.