Oscillatory Dynamics and In Vivo Photoacoustic Imaging Performance of Plasmonic Nanoparticle-Coated Microbubbles.

ABSTRACT: Microbubbles bearing plasmonic nanoparticles on their surface provide contrast enhancement for both photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging. In this work, the responses of microbubbles with surface-bound gold nanorods-termed AuMBs-to nanosecond pulsed laser excitation are studied using high-speed microscopy, photoacoustic imaging, and numerical modeling. In response to laser fluences below 5 mJ cm(-2) , AuMBs produce weak photoacoustic emissions and exhibit negligible microbubble wall motion. However, in reponse to fluences above 5 mJ cm(-2) , AuMBs undergo dramatically increased thermal expansion and emit nonlinear photoacoustic waves of over 10-fold greater amplitude than would be expected from freely dispersed gold nanorods. Numerical modeling suggests that AuMB photoacoustic responses to

SUBMITTER: Dixon AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4490110 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature