Microbubble Shell Stiffness Engineering Enhances Ultrasound Imaging, Drug Delivery, and Sonoporation.

ABSTRACT: Microbubbles (MB) are widely used as contrast agents for ultrasound (US) imaging and US-enhanced drug delivery. While the majority of studies utilize commercial MB formulations, increasing experimental evidence indicates that distinct MB features critically determine their diagnostic and therapeutic performance. Here, it is shown that shell stiffness engineering of poly(alkyl cyanoacrylate) (PACA) MB, via introducing monomers with varying alkyl chain lengths and glass transition temperatures, preserves a narrow size distribution ≈2-3 µm, while enhancing MB drug loading, in vitro sonoporation capability, and in vitro and in vivo acoustic responses. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations and spectroscopic experiments demonstrate that MB shell engineering increases drug diffusion rates in th

SUBMITTER: Barmin RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12848657 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature