Open AccessLaser-induced cavitation in nanoemulsion with gold nanospheres for blood clot disruption: in vitro results
Author(s) -
Wei Chen,
Jinjun Xia,
Michael Lombardo,
Camilo Perez,
Bastien Arnal,
Kjersta Larson-Smith,
Ivan Pelivanov,
Thomas J. Matula,
Lilo D. Pozzo,
Matthew O’Donnell
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
optics letters/optics index
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.524
H-Index - 272
eISSN - 1071-2763
pISSN - 0146-9592
DOI - 10.1364/ol.39.002599
Subject(s) - cavitation , materials science , laser , microbubbles , fluence , biomedical engineering , ultrasound , confocal , bubble , boiling , nanotechnology , biophysics , optics , chemistry , medicine , acoustics , physics , organic chemistry , parallel computing , computer science , biology , radiology
Optically activated cavitation in a nanoemulsion contrast agent is proposed for therapeutic applications. With a 56°C boiling point perfluorohexane core and highly absorptive gold nanospheres at the oil-water interface, cavitation nuclei in the core can be efficiently induced with a laser fluence below medical safety limits (70 mJ/cm2 at 1064 nm). This agent is also sensitive to ultrasound (US) exposure and can induce inertial cavitation at a pressure within the medical diagnostic range. Images from a high-speed camera demonstrate bubble formation in these nanoemulsions. The potential of using this contrast agent for blood clot disruption is demonstrated in an in vitro study. The possibility of simultaneous laser and US excitation to reduce the cavitation threshold for therapeutic applications is also discussed.