Acoustic Nanoparticle Synthesis for Applications in Nanomedicine

Sound wave propagation arising from the highfrequency acoustic irradiation of a fluid can generate considerable stresses at the free surface of the fluid leading toward its destabilization and subsequent breakup. If the fluid comprises a polymer solution, the evaporation of the solvent from the aerosols that are generated as a consequence of the atomization process leaves behind a solidified polymer core with submicron dimensions. Here, any discussion of nanoparticle synthesis due to chemical reactions driven by sound waves, i.e., sonochemistry, is omitted and the discourse is limited to the physical synthesis of such nanoparticles due to the atomization of polymer solutions into a gas, typically dry air. Overview