Inner ear barriers to nanomedicine-augmented drug delivery and imaging

• Published in: Journal of otology (Beijing) Vol. 11; no. 4; pp. 165 - 177
• Main Authors: Zou, Jing, Pyykkö, Ilmari, Hyttinen, Jari
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd 01.12.2016; Department of 0tolaryngology e Head and Neck Surgery, Center for 0tolaryngology e Head&Neck Surgery of Chinese PLA, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China%Hearing and Balance Research Unit, Field of 0tolaryngology, School of Medicine, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland%Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering, BioMediTech, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland; Chinese PLA General Hospital; Tsinghua University Press
• Subjects: Contrast agents; Gene delivery; Imaging; Inner ear; Nanotechnology; Review article; Gene delivery; Contrast agents; Imaging; Inner ear; Nanotechnology
• ISSN: 1672-2930
• DOI: 10.1016/j.joto.2016.11.002

There are several challenges to inner ear drug delivery and imaging due to the existence of tight biological barriers to the target structure and the dense bone surrounding it. Advances in imaging and nanomedicine may provide knowledge for overcoming the existing limitations to both the diagnosis and treatment of inner ear diseases. Novel techniques have improved the efficacy of drug delivery and targeting to the inner ear, as well as the quality and accuracy of imaging this structure. In this review, we will describe the pathways and biological barriers of the inner ear regarding drug delivery, the beneficial applications and limitations of the imaging techniques available for inner ear research, the behavior of engineered nanomaterials in inner ear applications, and future perspectives for nanomedicine-based inner ear imaging.