Theoretical and Experimental Gas Volume Quantification of Micro- and Nanobubble Ultrasound Contrast Agents

Abstract

The amount of gas in ultrasound contrast agents is related to their acoustic activity. Because of this relationship, gas volume has been used as a key variable in normalizing the in vitro and in vivo acoustic behavior of lipid shell-stabilized bubbles with different sizes and shell components. Despite its importance, bubble gas volume has typically only been theoretically calculated based on bubble size and concentration that is typically measured using the Coulter counter for microbubbles and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) for nanoscale bubbles. However, while these methods have been validated for the analysis of liquid or solid particles, their application in bubble analysis has not been rigorously studied. We have previously shown that resonant mass measurement (RMM) may be a better-suited technique for sub-micron bubble analysis, as it can measure both buoyant and non-buoyant particle size and concentration. Here, we provide validation of RMM bubble analysis by using headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to experimentally measure the gas volume of the bubble samples. This measurement was then used as ground truth to test the accuracy of theoretical gas volume predictions based on RMM, NTA (for nanobubbles), and Coulter counter (for microbubbles) measurements. The results show that the headspace GC/MS gas volume measurements agreed well with the theoretical predictions for the RMM of nanobubbles but not NTA. For nanobubbles, the theoretical gas volume using RMM was 10% lower than the experimental GC/MS measurements; meanwhile, using NTA resulted in an 82% lower predicted gas volume. For microbubbles, the experimental gas volume from the GC/MS measurements was 27% lower compared to RMM and 72% less compared to the Coulter counter results. This study demonstrates that the gas volume of nanobubbles and microbubbles can be reliably measured using headspace GC/MS to validate bubble size measurement techniques. We also conclude that the accuracy of theoretical predictions is highly dependent on proper size and concentration measurements.

Photoacoustic imaging biomarkers for monitoring biophysical changes during nanobubble-mediated radiation treatment

“…In order to examine the efficacy of NB-mediated radiation therapy in comparison to the MB equivalent treatment, rigorous comparisons must be conducted and are planned for future work. For instance, one must equalize the gas volume encapsulated within MBs and NBs in order to directly compare them [ 65 , 66 ].

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On The Development Of Photoacoustic Imaging Biomarkers For Cancer Treatment Monitoring

“…In order to examine the efficacy of NB-mediated radiation therapy in comparison to the MB equivalent treatment, rigorous comparisons must be conducted and are planned for future work. For instance, one must equalize the gas volume encapsulated within MBs and NBs in order to directly compare them [303], [304].…”

Magnetic mediators for ultrasound theranostics

“…The advantages of MMUS compared to CEUS are its ability to recover stiffness information, accuracy in localizing and identifying small inclusions such as lymph nodes, and the opportunity to reuse MNPs after imaging for further theranostic approaches (e.g., MH, targeted molecular imaging). In comparison, the reuse of MBs after imaging is strongly limited by their short circulation time of several minutes 14 . Theranostic applications using MMUS have been proposed by Hadadian et al 146 .…”

“…For instance, to be an efficient US contrast agent, MBs need to be smaller than red blood cells. They also need to have a diameter smaller than 8 μm to allow for transport through small arteries 13 , 14 . Their microscale size restricts MBs from extravasating out of the vasculature, which limits their ability to deliver cargo in drug delivery applications.…”