Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42003489›Full record

ReviewChemical communications (Cambridge, England)2026

Therapeutic embolic agents for targeted drug delivery in transcatheter therapies: a review.

Keren Zhao, Peng Chen, George Varghese P J, Mohammad-Reza Hosseini-Siyanaki, Reza Talaie, Amirhossein Arzani, Charles Kim, Jingjie Hu

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England), 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

8 authors.

Keren ZhaoDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA. jingjiehu@ncsu.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8728-096X
Peng ChenDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA. jingjiehu@ncsu.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3234-4193
George Varghese P JDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA. jingjiehu@ncsu.edu.
Mohammad-Reza Hosseini-SiyanakiDivision of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
Reza TalaieDivision of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
Amirhossein ArzaniDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Charles KimDivision of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
Jingjie HuDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA. jingjiehu@ncsu.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3052-9496

Funding

Integrated experimental and computational approach for accurate patient-specific vascular embolizationR21AG083692 · NIA · NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH · PI ARZANI, AMIRHOSSEIN, HU, JINGJIE · 2023 to 2025
$581k
Developing Therapeutic Gel Embolic Agents for Arteriovenous Malformation EmbolizationR03EB033633 · NIBIB · NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH · PI HU, JINGJIE · 2023 to 2024
$144k
NIA NIH HHS R21 AG083692NIBIB NIH HHS R03 EB033633
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Embolization has evolved from a purely mechanical occlusion technique to a multifunctional platform that supports imaging enhancement and therapeutic functions, including localized drug delivery, immunotherapy, and vascular remodeling. Although reviews on embolic agents have been published, the therapeutic performance of embolic platforms has not yet been systematically examined from a materials perspective linking material design and formation mechanisms to drug loading, release behavior, and therapeutic outcomes. In this review, we discuss the embolic system design principles and mechanisms underlying both clinically used and emerging embolic agents, emphasizing liquid/gel systems and microsphere (MS)-based platforms with integrated therapeutic functionality. We highlight how material design governs catheter delivery, vascular penetration, occlusion stability, and controlled drug release, key factors that govern the performance of all embolic categories. For liquid/gel embolics, we summarize clinical formulations alongside their reported outcomes, and we review emerging systems according to their mechanisms of solidification and biological interaction, including thermoresponsive gels, chemically triggered networks, complex coacervates, and shear-thinning nanocomposites. For MS embolics, we summarize clinically used materials and discuss emerging systems, focusing on how polymer chemistry, cross-linking, and network architecture regulate drug loading and release. Finally, we discuss key translational challenges in the emerging embolic systems and highlight opportunities for future embolic platforms that enable more precise and durable therapeutic control.

Indexed as

Drug Delivery SystemsEmbolization, TherapeuticHumansMicrospheresPolymersPolymers

Identifiers

PMID42003489
PMCPMC13093255

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Registered trials

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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.