Title: Generation of a Droplet Inside a Microbubble with the Aid of an Ultrasound Contrast Agent: First Result
VOLUME: 4 ISSUE: 1
Author(s):Michiel Postema, Folkert J. ten Cate, Georg Schmitz, Nico de Jong and Annemieke van Wamel
Affiliation:Institute for Medical Engineering, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Building IC, 6/144, D–44780 Bochum,Germany.
Keywords:Antibubble, Ultrasound contrast agent, Drug delivery, High-speed photography
Abstract: New ultrasound contrast agents that incorporate a therapeutic compound have become of interest. Such an ultrasound contrast agent particle might act as the vehicle to carry a drug or gene load to a perfused region of interest. The load could be released with the assistance of ultrasound. Generally, an increase in shell thickness increases the acoustic amplitude needed to disrupt a bubble. High acoustic amplitudes, however, have been associated with unwanted effects on cells. It would be interesting to incorporate a droplet containing drugs or genes inside a microbubble carrier. A liquid core surrounded by a gas encapsulation has been referred to as antibubble. In this paper, the creation of an antibubble with the aid of ultrasound has been demonstrated with high-speed photography.