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A series of hollow biodegradable polymeric microcapsules were prepared, of which their susceptibility to ultrasound was used for triggered release. High speed imaging of the ultrasound experiments showed a strong correlation between the acoustic pressure needed to activate these microcapsules and their shell thickness to diameter ratio. Based on this information a selective triggering of capsules with two different shell thickness to diameter ratios was successfully performed. The capsules were mixed in a single system and were activated independently from each other by a differentiation in acoustic pressure levels. This application is of great interest in the field of drug delivery, since this system allows for localized multiple drug releases in a selective fashion.

Precision control of vapourization, both in space and time, has many potential applications; however, the physical mechanisms underlying controlled boiling are not well understood. The reason is the combined microscopic length scales and ultrashort timescales associated with the initiation and subsequent dynamical behaviour of the vapour bubbles formed. Here we study the nanoseconds vapour bubble dynamics of laser-heated single oil-filled microcapsules using coupled optical and acoustic detection. Pulsed laser excitation leads to vapour formation and collapse, and a simple physical model captures the observed radial dynamics and resulting acoustic pressures. Continuous wave laser excitation leads to a sequence of vapourization/condensation cycles, the result of absorbing microcapsule fragments moving in and out of the laser beam. A model incorporating thermal diffusion from the capsule shell into the oil core and surrounding water reveals the mechanisms behind the onset of vapourization. Excellent agreement is observed between the modelled dynamics and experiment.

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Ultrasound-driven microbubbles are attractive for a variety of applications in medicine, including real-time organ perfusion imaging and targeted molecular imaging. In ultrasound-mediated drug delivery, bubbles decorated with a functional payload become convenient transport vehicles and offer highly localized release. How to efficiently release and transport these nanomedicines to the target site remains unclear owing to the microscopic length scales and nanoseconds timescales of the process. Here, we show theoretically how non-spherical bubble oscillations lead first to local oversaturation, thereby inducing payload release, and then to microstreaming generation that initiates transport. Experimental validation is achieved through ultra-high-speed imaging in an unconventional side-view at tens of nanoseconds timescales combined with high-speed fluorescence imaging to track the release of the payload. Transport distance and intrinsic bubble behavior are quantified and agree well with the model. These results will allow for optimizing the therapeutic use of targeted microbubbles for precision medicine.

The Brandaris 128 ultra-high-speed imaging facility has been updated over the last 10 years through modifications made to the camera's hardware and software. At its introduction the camera was able to record 6 sequences of 128 images (500 × 292 pixels) at a maximum frame rate of 25 Mfps. The segmented mode of the camera was revised to allow for subdivision of the 128 image sensors into arbitrary segments (1-128) with an inter-segment time of 17 μs. Furthermore, a region of interest can be selected to increase the number of recordings within a single run of the camera from 6 up to 125. By extending the imaging system with a laser-induced fluorescence setup, time-resolved ultra-high-speed fluorescence imaging of microscopic objects has been enabled. Minor updates to the system are also reported here.

The challenge in visualizing fast microscale fluid motion phenomena is to record high-quality images free of motion-blur. Here, we present an illumination technique based on laser-induced fluorescence which delivers high-intensity light pulses of 7 ns. The light source consists of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser and a laser dye solution incorporated into a total internal reflection lens, resulting in a uni-directional light beam with a millimetersized circular aperture and 3°divergence. The laser coherence, considered undesirable for imaging purposes, is reduced while maintaining a nanoseconds pulse duration. The properties of the illumination by laser-induced fluorescence (iLIF) are quantified, and a comparison is made with other high-intensity pulsed and continuous light sources.