Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41824501›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2026

SonoPIN enables precise, noninvasive, and efficient intracellular delivery of PROTACs.

Yuqi Wu, Mingyuan Liu, Ke Li, Shanglin Li, Lai Yee Phoon, John Mai, Ying Chen, Wei Yan, Shu Nakajima Lan, Joseph Rufo and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Yuqi WuThomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Mingyuan LiuDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Ke LiThomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Shanglin LiThomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Lai Yee PhoonDepartment of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
John MaiAlfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089.
Ying ChenThomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Wei YanDepartment of Pharmacology, The Long School of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229.
Shu Nakajima LanThomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Joseph RufoThomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Graham MilfordThomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Ye HeThomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Qian WuThomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Shujie YangThomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Li LanDepartment of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.ORCID 0000-0003-0383-6172
Stephen J BenkovicDepartment of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16802.ORCID 0000-0003-3680-3481
Tony Jun HuangThomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.ORCID 0000-0003-1205-3313

Funding

Automated High-purity Exosome isolation-based AD diagnostics system (AHEADx)R01AG084098 · NIA · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI Tony Jun Huang · 2023 to 2026
$3.1M
Development of the AcoustoDrop platform: an acoustofluidic-based, automated, liquid-handling system for manipulating and dispensing dropletsin a rewritable, biocompatible, and high-throughput mannerR44GM154515 · NIGMS · ASCENT BIO-NANO TECHNOLOGIES, INC. · PI WANG, LIN · 2024 to 2025
$2.2M
Development of an acoustic-based smart Petri dish for contact-free, precise, versatile bioparticle manipulationR44GM154514 · NIGMS · ASCENT BIO-NANO TECHNOLOGIES, INC. · PI WANG, LIN · 2024 to 2025
$2.0M
Development of a digital acoustofluidic system for automating liquid handling in biomedical researchR01GM141055 · NIGMS · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI HUANG, TONY JUN · 2021 to 2024
$1.9M
Understanding and Targeting the R-Loop-Mediated DNA Damage Response at TelomeresR01CA282939 · NCI · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI Li Lan · 2023 to 2026
$1.5M
HHS | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) R01GM141055HHS | NIH | National Institute on Aging (NIA) R01AG084098HHS | NIH | National Institute on Aging (NIA) R01CA282939NCI NIH HHS R01 CA282939NIA NIH HHS R01 AG084098NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM141055NIGMS NIH HHS R44 GM154514NIGMS NIH HHS R44 GM154515NSF (NSF) CMMI-2104295NSF | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) 2139754
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) have emerged as a promising molecular approach for degrading undruggable proteins and for overcoming drug resistance in cancer therapy. However, their clinical translation remains limited by challenges such as poor cell membrane permeability, limited intracellular uptake, and potential off-target toxicity. To overcome these barriers, we developed Sonoporation-assisted Precise Intracellular Nanodelivery (SonoPIN), an ultrasound-driven, aptamer-guided microbubble system that enables rapid delivery of therapeutic molecules with cell selectivity. By leveraging aptamer-conjugated microbubbles and ultrasound-induced sonoporation, SonoPIN transiently permeabilizes the membranes of target cells, while leaving nontarget cells undisturbed. Using BRD4, a well-characterized oncogenic transcriptional coactivator and validated PROTAC target critically involved in cancer cell survival, as a model system, we demonstrate that SonoPIN facilitates highly efficient intracellular delivery of fluorescently labeled PROTACs. SonoPIN achieves a sevenfold increase in intracellular fluorescence after 60 s of ultrasound stimulation, resulting in a 70% reduction in BRD4 protein levels specifically in cancer cells. Importantly, BRD4 degradation is undetectable in noncancerous cells. Consequently, approximately 50% of the targeted cancer cells undergo apoptosis while nontarget cells retain more than 99% viability, underscoring the high selectivity of the SonoPIN system. Our study indicates that SonoPIN represents an innovative, noninvasive delivery platform for PROTAC therapeutics, offering a rapid and precise approach for targeted drug delivery in cancer treatment.

Indexed as

Drug Delivery SystemsProteolysis Targeting ChimeraAptamers, NucleotideBromodomain Containing ProteinsCell Cycle ProteinsCell Line, TumorHumansMicrobubblesProteolysisTranscription FactorsAptamers, NucleotideBRD4 protein, humanBromodomain Containing ProteinsCell Cycle ProteinsProteolysis Targeting ChimeraTranscription FactorsaptamermicrobubbleSonoPINsonoporationultrasound

Identifiers

PMID41824501
PMCPMC12993956

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.