Microbubble contrast agents can specifically deliver nucleic acids to target tissues when exposed to ultrasound treatment parameters that mediate microbubble destruction. In this study, we evaluated whether microbubbles and ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) could be used to enhance delivery of EGF receptor (EGFR)-directed siRNA to murine squamous cell carcinomas. Custom-designe...

Microbubble whispering gallery resonators have the potential to become key components in a variety of active and passive photonic circuit devices by offering a range of significant functionalities. Here, we report on the fabrication, optical characterization, and theoretical analysis of lead-silicate glass, optical microbubble resonators. Evanescent field coupling to the microbubbles was achiev...

Ultrasound contrast microbubbles have been successfully targeted to a number of intravascular disease markers. We hypothesized that targeted delivery could be improved further, by making the microbubbles deformable, leading to increased microbubble-endothelium adhesion contact area and stabilized adhesion. Activated leukocytes utilize such strategy; they deform after binding to inflamed endothe...

Microbubble-mediated sonoporation has shown its great potential in facilitating intracellular uptake of gene/drugs and other therapeutic agents that are otherwise difficult to enter cells. However, the biophysical mechanisms underlying microbubble-cell interactions remain unclear. Particularly, it is still a major challenge to get a comprehensive understanding of the impact of cell cycle phase ...

Microbubble ultrasound contrast agents have the potential to dramatically improve gene therapy treatments by enhancing the delivery of therapeutic DNA to malignant tissue. The physical response of microbubbles in an ultrasound field can mechanically perturb blood vessel walls and cell membranes, enhancing drug permeability into malignant tissue. In this review, we discuss literature that provid...

Ultrasound contrast agents are highly echogenic microbubbles with many unique properties. Microbubbles can basically improve the sensitivity of conventional ultrasound imaging to the microcirculation. The resonance of microbubbles in response to an incident ultrasound pulse results in nonlinear harmonic emission that serves as the signature of microbubbles in microbubble-specific imaging. Inert...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether serum complement C3 mediates adherence of albumin-encapsulated microbubbles to vascular endothelium in the development of atherosclerotic plaques. METHODS Adherence of microbubbles to aortic endothelium was examined with scanning electron microscopy following intravenous injection of 20% intralipid in wild-type mice, genetic complement-deficient mice (C3-/-), an...

This paper discusses the use of microbubbles in the treatment of tumorous cancers and how they can reduce the side-effects and increase the effectiveness of current chemotherapy drugs. The microbubbles are used with ultrasound to focus the treatment at the tumor site, making them a promising technology for targeted cancer treatment. Statistics on the prevalence of cancer along with information ...

OBJECTIVES Our objective was to test the hypothesis that the ultrasound pulsing interval (PI), microbubble injection site and microvascular pressure significantly influence the transport of 100-nm microspheres to muscle through extravasation sites created by the destruction of microbubbles with ultrasound. BACKGROUND Microbubbles show promise as targeted drug and gene delivery agents; however...

High intensity pulsed ultrasound when interacting with microbubble contrast agents is potentially useful for biomedical applications such as drug delivery, cancer treatment and tissue ablation. To establish a fundamental understanding of the interaction between a microbubble with a sound wave, numerical simulations are performed using the Boundary Element Method (BEM). Bubble dynamics in terms ...