Observation of Microbubbles and Cell Behavior Due to Exposure to Ultrasonic Waves

Introduction

One type of drug delivery system (DDS) dosing method involves injecting pharmaceuticals into cells by filling microbubbles with pharmaceuticals, and then collapsing them after making them adhere to cells. In this method, it is important that the drug is injected by penetrating the cell wall, but without killing the cell, as a result of the jet when the microbubble collapses. Accordingly, it is important to observe the behavior of the cell when the bubble collapses. Bubbles are made to collapse by resonance with ultrasonic waves. Resonant frequencies are 1 MHz or higher, so high-speed imaging must be performed at 1 million frames/sec or faster. This article introduces observations of the behavior of cells and microbubbles due to exposure to ultrasonic waves, using the HPV-X2 high-speed video camera.

March 29, 2016 GMT