Microbubbles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Microbubbles are bubbles smaller than one millimetre in diameter, but larger than one micrometre. They are used in medical diagnostics as a contrast agent for ultrasound imaging.[1] The gas-filled, e.g. air or perfluorocarbon, microbubbles oscillate and vibrate when a sonic energy field is applied and may reflect ultrasound waves. This distinguishes the microbubbles from surrounding tissues. In practice, because gas bubbles in liquid lack stability and would therefore quickly dissolve, microbubbles must be encapsulated with a solid shell. The shell is made from either a lipid or a protein such as Optison microbubbles which consist of perfluoropropane gas encapsulated by a serum albumin shell.

Microbubbles may be used for drug delivery,[2] biofilm removal[3] and water/waste water treatment purposes.[4] They are also produced by the movement of a ship’s hull through water, creating a bubble layer; this may interfere with the use of sonar because of the tendency of the layer to absorb or reflect sound waves.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Blomley, Martin J K; Cooke, Jennifer C; Unger, Evan C; Monaghan, Mark J; Cosgrove, David O (2001). "Science, medicine, and the future: Microbubble contrast agents: A new era in ultrasound". BMJ 322 (7296): 1222–5. doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7296.1222. PMC 1120332. PMID 11358777. 
  2. ↑ Sirsi, Shashank; Borden, Mark (2009). "Microbubble compositions, properties and biomedical applications". Bubble Science, Engineering & Technology 1 (1–2): 3–17. doi:10.1179/175889709X446507. PMC 2889676. PMID 20574549. 
  3. ↑ Mukumoto, Mio; Ohshima, Tomoko; Ozaki, Miwa; Konishi, Hirokazu; Maeda, Nobuko; Nakamura, Yoshiki (2012). "Effect of microbubbled water on the removal of a biofilm attached to orthodontic appliances — an in vitro study". Dental Materials Journal 31 (5): 821–7. doi:10.4012/dmj.2012-091. PMID 23037846. 
  4. ↑ Agarwal, Ashutosh; Ng, Wun Jern; Liu, Yu (2011). "Principle and applications of microbubble and nanobubble technology for water treatment". Chemosphere 84 (9): 1175–80. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.05.054. PMID 21689840. 
  5. ↑ Griffiths, Brian; Sabto, Michele (25 June 2012). "Quiet on board please: science underway". ECOS. 

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.