S02 Microbubble Cavitation for Therapy : Present Status and Future Directions

抄録

Microbubble contrast agents were originally developed to enhance echogenicity in diagnostic sonography. However, their somewhat unique acoustic response and facility to transduct energy into spatially focussed regimes, together with the clinical demand for non-invasive adjuncts and options to conventional therapy, have seen interest in exploring the therapeutic potential of microbubbbles grow steadily within this past decade or more. For the purposes of the present paper, the author has sought to select several key aspects of acoustically driven microbubble interactions, (both with other bubbles, and with cells also) and to assess what we have learned, and perhaps more importantly, what we still require to understand better. This is presented in the context of both in vitro sonoporation experimentation, and also with more clinically related areas such as transdermal drug delivery En route, we will highlight some personal preferences with in-vitro experiments, namely the advantages to be gleaned by controlling the spatial placement of microbubbles within bespoke optical traps. The objective here is to improve our understanding of their statistical behaviour of interactions, and to validate computational models for eventual optimisation. Observations first centre on individual microbubbles of commercial [low-index] ultrasound contrast agents and their interactions with proximal surfaces. We then progress to the situation of multiple microbubbles in controlled geometries. Some nuances of high speed imaging cameras are highlighted. We also compare our own observations with a selection of corroborative highlights from the literature, and finally, make some suggestions as to where future research efforts might be most fruitfully directed.