Scaleable production of microbubbles using an ultrasound-modulated microfluidic device.

Surfactant-coated gas microbubbles are widely used as contrast agents in ultrasound imaging and increasingly in therapeutic applications. The response of microbubbles to ultrasound can be strongly influenced by their size and coating properties, and hence the production method. Ultrasonic emulsification (sonication) is the most commonly employed method and can generate high concentrations of microbubbles rapidly, but with a broad size distribution, and there is a risk of contamination and/or degradation of sensitive components. Microfluidic devices provide excellent control over microbubble size, but are often challenging or costly to manufacture, offer low production rates (<106s-1), and are prone to clogging. In this study, a hybrid sonication-microfluidic or "sonofluidic" device was developed. Bubbles of ∼180 µm diameter were produced rapidly in a T-junction and subsequently exposed to ultrasound (71-73 kHz) within a microchannel, generating microbubbles (mean diameter: 1-2 µm) at a rate of >108s-1 using a single device. Microbubbles were prepared using either the sonofluidic device or conventional sonication, and their size, concentration, and stability were comparable. The mean diameter, concentration, and stability were found to be comparable between techniques, but the microbubbles produced by the sonofluidic device were all <5 µm in diameter and thus did not require any post-production fractionation.

Spectral Imaging for Microbubble Characterization.

Microbubbles stabilized by an outer lipid shell have been studied extensively for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The shell composition can significantly influence microbubble behavior, but performing quantitative measurements of shell properties is challenging. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of spectral imaging to characterize the surface properties of a range of microbubble formulations representing both commercial and research agents. A lipophilic dye, C-laurdan, whose fluorescence emission varies according to the properties of the local environment, was used to compare the degree and uniformity of the lipid order in the microbubble shell, and these measurements were compared with the acoustic response and stability of the different formulations. Spectral imaging was found to be suitable for performing rapid and hence relatively high throughput measurements of microbubble surface properties. Interestingly, despite significant differences in lipid molecule size and charge, all of the different formulations exhibited highly ordered lipid shells. Measurements of liposomes with the same composition and the debris generated by destroying lipid microbubbles with ultrasound (US) showed that these exhibited a lower and more varied lipid order than intact microbubbles. This suggests that the high lipid order of microbubbles is due primarily to compression of the shell as a result of surface tension and is only minimally affected by composition. This also explains the similarity in acoustic response observed between the formulations, because microbubble dynamics are determined by the diameter and shell viscoelastic properties that are themselves a function of the lipid order. Within each population, there was considerable variability in the lipid order and response between individual microbubbles, suggesting the need for improved manufacturing techniques. In addition, the difference in the lipid order between the shell and lipid debris may be important for therapeutic applications in which shedding of the shell material is exploited, for example, drug delivery.

Blepharochalasis: something to cry about.

Blepharochalasis is a rare disorder of unknown etiology defined by loose, atrophic periorbital skin following recurrent episodes of eyelid edema. Characteristic histopathology shows complete absence of elastic fibers. The current case progressed after multiple episodes of crying, which may be related to matrix metalloproteinase dysregulation. This case offers further insights into the possible pathogenesis of blepharochalasis, paving the way for more targeted, disease-modifying therapies.

Facile and cost-effective production of microscale PDMS architectures using a combined micromilling-replica moulding (µMi-REM) technique.

We describe a cost-effective and simple method to fabricate PDMS-based microfluidic devices by combining micromilling with replica moulding technology. It relies on the following steps: (i) microchannels are milled in a block of acrylic; (ii) low-cost epoxy adhesive resin is poured over the milled acrylic block and allowed to cure; (iii) the solidified resin layer is peeled off the acrylic block and used as a mould for transferring the microchannel architecture onto a PDMS layer; finally (iv) the PDMS layer is plasma bonded to a glass surface. With this method, microscale architectures can be fabricated without the need for advanced technological equipment or laborious and time-consuming intermediate procedures. In this manuscript, we describe and validate the microfabrication procedure, and we illustrate its applicability to emulsion and microbubble production.

Electrohydrodynamic encapsulation of cisplatin in poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles for controlled drug delivery.

Targeted delivery of potent, toxic chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin, is a significant area of research in cancer treatment. In this study, cisplatin was successfully encapsulated with high efficiency (>70%) in poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) polymeric nanoparticles by using electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) where applied voltage and solution flow rate as well as the concentration of cisplatin and polymer were varied to control the size of the particles. Thus, nanoparticles were produced with three different drug:polymer ratios (2.5, 5 and 10wt% cisplatin). It was shown that smaller nanoparticles were produced with 10wt% cisplatin. Furthermore, these demonstrated the best sustained release (smallest burst release). By fitting the experimental data with various kinetic models it was concluded that the release is dependent upon the particle morphology and the drug concentration. Thus, these particles have significant potential for cisplatin delivery with controlled dosage and release period that are crucial chemotherapy parameters.

Dermatology Interest Groups in Medical Schools.

Involvement in a Dermatology Interest Group (DIG) allows students to learn about dermatology, partake in service projects, get involved in research, and ask questions about the application process for residency programs. In this article, we review the activities and member involvement of DIGs from 11 medical schools. To our knowledge, this is the first descriptive analysis of DIGs across the United States. This comparison of DIGs is not only potentially helpful for medical schools interested in establishing a DIG, but it also offers insight into how previously established DIGs could improve and have a greater impact both in individual medical schools and in the community at-large.

Prospects for enhancement of targeted radionuclide therapy of cancer using ultrasound.

Ultrasound-mediated drug delivery is a promising means of enhancing delivery, distribution and effectiveness of drugs within tumours. In this review, prospects for exploiting ultrasound to improve the tumour delivery and distribution of radiolabelled antibodies for radioimmunotherapy and to overcome barriers imposed by tumour microenvironment are discussed.

Evaluation of Loading Strategies to Improve Tumor Uptake of Gemcitabine in a Murine Orthotopic Bladder Cancer Model Using Ultrasound and Microbubbles.

In this study we compared three different microbubble-based approaches to the delivery of a widely used chemotherapy drug, gemcitabine: (i) co-administration of gemcitabine and microbubbles (Gem+MB); (ii) conjugates of microbubbles and gemcitabine-loaded liposomes (GemlipoMB); and (iii) microbubbles with gemcitabine directly bound to their surfaces (GembioMB). Both in vitro and in vivo investigations were carried out, respectively, in the RT112 bladder cancer cell line and in a murine orthotopic muscle-invasive bladder cancer model. The in vitro (in vivo) ultrasound exposure conditions were a 1 (1.1) MHz centre frequency, 0.07 (1.0) MPa peak negative pressure, 3000 (20,000) cycles and 100 (0.5) Hz pulse repetition frequency. Ultrasound exposure produced no significant increase in drug uptake either in vitro or in vivo compared with the drug-only control for co-administered gemcitabine and microbubbles. In vivo, GemlipoMB prolonged the plasma circulation time of gemcitabine, but only GembioMB produced a statistically significant increase in cleaved caspase 3 expression in the tumor, indicative of gemcitabine-induced apoptosis.

Ultrasound-Mediated Gemcitabine Delivery Reduces the Normal-Tissue Toxicity of Chemoradiation Therapy in a Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Model.

PURPOSE: Chemoradiation therapy is the standard of care in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Although agents such as gemcitabine can enhance tumor radiosensitivity, their side effects can limit patient eligibility and treatment efficacy. This study investigates ultrasound and microbubbles for targeting gemcitabine delivery to reduce normal-tissue toxicity in a murine orthotopic MIBC model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CD1-nude mice were injected orthotopically with RT112 bladder tumor cells. Conventional chemoradiation involved injecting gemcitabine (10 mg/kg) before 6 Gy targeted irradiation of the bladder area using the Small Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP). Ultrasound-mediated gemcitabine delivery (10 mg/kg gemcitabine) involved either coadministration of microbubbles with gemcitabine or conjugating gemcitabine onto microbubbles followed by exposure to ultrasound (1.1 MHz center frequency, 1 MPa peak negative pressure, 1% duty cycle, and 0.5 Hz pulse repetition frequency) before SARRP irradiation. The effect of ultrasound and microbubbles alone was also tested. Tumor volumes were measured by 3D ultrasound imaging. Acute normal-tissue toxicity from 12 Gy to the lower bowel area was assessed using an intestinal crypt assay in mice culled 3.75 days posttreatment. RESULTS: A significant delay in tumor growth was observed with conventional chemoradiation therapy and both microbubble groups (P < .05 compared with the radiation-only group). Transient weight loss was seen in the microbubble groups, which resolved within 10 days posttreatment. A positive correlation was found between weight loss on day 3 posttreatment and tumor growth delay (P < .05; R2 = 0.76). In contrast with conventional chemoradiation therapy, ultrasound-mediated drug delivery methods did not exacerbate the acute intestinal toxicity using the crypt assay. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound and microbubbles offer a promising new approach for improving chemoradiation therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, maintaining a delay in tumor growth but with reduced acute intestinal toxicity compared with conventional chemoradiation therapy.

Combining sonodynamic therapy with chemoradiation for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Treatment options for patients with pancreatic cancer are limited and survival prospects have barely changed over the past 4 decades. Chemoradiation treatment (CRT) has been used as neoadjuvant therapy in patients with borderline resectable disease to reduce tumour burden and increase the proportion of patients eligible for surgery. Antimetabolite drugs such as gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil are known to sensitise pancreatic tumours to radiation treatment. Likewise, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has also been shown to enhance the effect of radiation therapy. However, PDT is limited to treating superficial lesions due to the attenuation of light by tissue. The ability of the related technique, sonodynamic therapy (SDT), to enhance CRT was investigated in two murine models of pancreatic cancer (PSN-1 and BxPC-3) in this study. SDT uses low intensity ultrasound to activate an otherwise non-toxic sensitiser, generating toxic levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) locally. It is applicable to greater target depths than PDT due to the ability of ultrasound to propagate further than light in tissue. Both CRT and the combination of CRT plus SDT delayed tumour growth in the two tumour models. In the PSN-1 model, but not the BxPC-3 model, the combination treatment caused an increase in survival relative to CRT alone (p = 0.038). The improvement in survival conferred by the addition of SDT in this model may be related to differences in tumour architecture between the two models. MRI and US images showed that PSN-1 tumours were less well perfused and vascularised than BxPC-3 tumours. This poor vascularisation may explain why PSN-1 tumours were more susceptible to the effects of vascular damage exerted by SDT treatment.

Mouse Models of Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer: Key Considerations for Clinical Translation Based on Molecular Subtypes.

CONTEXT: In the past few years, research has suggested that molecular subtypes in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) may be exploited to accelerate developments in clinical disease management and novel therapeutics. OBJECTIVE: To review MIBC mouse models from a molecular subtype perspective, their advantages and limitations, and their applications in translational medicine, based on a PubMed search for publications from January 2000 to February 2018. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Publications relevant to MIBC mouse models and their molecular subtypes were identified in a literature review. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: We classified the models according to the technique used for their establishment. For xenotransplant and allograft models, the inoculated cells and inoculated locations are the major determinants of molecular subtypes. Although the cell lines used in xenotransplant models can cover most of the basal-squamous and luminal subtypes, allograft models offer a more realistic environment in which to reconstruct aspects of the associated stromal and immune features. Autochthonous models, using genetic and/or chemical stimuli to induce disease progression, can also generate models with basal-squamous and luminal subtypes, but further molecular characterisation is needed since other mutational variants may be introduced in these models. CONCLUSIONS: We identified preclinical MIBC models with different subtype specifications and assessed their promise and current limitations. These models are versatile tools that can reproduce the molecular complexity of MIBC and support novel therapeutic development. PATIENT SUMMARY: Understanding which models of muscle-invasive bladder cancer most accurately represent the clinical situation is important for the development of novel drugs and disease management strategies. We review the different models currently available and their relevance to different clinical subtypes.

A versatile method for the preparation of particle-loaded microbubbles for multimodality imaging and targeted drug delivery.

Microbubbles are currently in clinical use as ultrasound contrast agents and under active investigation as mediators of ultrasound therapy. To improve the theranostic potential of microbubbles, nanoparticles can be attached to the bubble shell for imaging, targeting and/or enhancement of acoustic response. Existing methods for fabricating particle-loaded bubbles, however, require the use of polymers, oil layers or chemical reactions for particle incorporation; embed/attach the particles that can reduce echogenicity; impair biocompatibility; and/or involve multiple processing steps. Here, we describe a simple method to embed nanoparticles in a phospholipid-coated microbubble formulation that overcomes these limitations. Magnetic nanoparticles are used to demonstrate the method with a range of different microbubble formulations. The size distribution and yield of microbubbles are shown to be unaffected by the addition of the particles. We further show that the microbubbles can be retained against flow using a permanent magnet, can be visualised by both ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and can be used to transfect SH-SY5Y cells with fluorescent small interfering RNA under the application of a magnetic field and ultrasound field.

Characterization of Contrast Agent Microbubbles for Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy Research.

The high efficiency with which gas microbubbles can scatter ultrasound compared with the surrounding blood pool or tissues has led to their widespread employment as contrast agents in ultrasound imaging. In recent years, their applications have been extended to include super-resolution imaging and the stimulation of localized bio-effects for therapy. The growing exploitation of contrast agents in ultrasound and in particular these recent developments have amplified the need to characterize and fully understand microbubble behavior. The aim in doing so is to more fully exploit their utility for both diagnostic imaging and potential future therapeutic applications. This paper presents the key characteristics of microbubbles that determine their efficacy in diagnostic and therapeutic applications and the corresponding techniques for their measurement. In each case, we have presented information regarding the methods available and their respective strengths and limitations, with the aim of presenting information relevant to the selection of appropriate characterization methods. First, we examine methods for determining the physical properties of microbubble suspensions and then techniques for acoustic characterization of both suspensions and single microbubbles. The next section covers characterization of microbubbles as therapeutic agents, including as drug carriers for which detailed understanding of their surface characteristics and drug loading capacity is required. Finally, we discuss the attempts that have been made to allow comparison across the methods employed by various groups to characterize and describe their microbubble suspensions and promote wider discussion and comparison of microbubble behavior.

Drug Delivery Strategies for Platinum-Based Chemotherapy.

Few chemotherapeutics have had such an impact on cancer management as cis-diamminedichloridoplatinum(II) (CDDP), also known as cisplatin. The first member of the platinum-based drug family, CDDP's potent toxicity in disrupting DNA replication has led to its widespread use in multidrug therapies, with particular benefit in patients with testicular cancers. However, CDDP also produces significant side effects that limit the maximum systemic dose. Various strategies have been developed to address this challenge including encapsulation within micro- or nanocarriers and the use of external stimuli such as ultrasound to promote uptake and release. The aim of this review is to look at these strategies and recent scientific and clinical developments.

Electrohydrodynamic fabrication of core-shell PLGA nanoparticles with controlled release of cisplatin for enhanced cancer treatment.

Increasing the clinical efficacy of toxic chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin (CDDP), via targeted drug delivery, is a key area of research in cancer treatment. In this study, CDDP-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully prepared using electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA). The configuration was varied to control the distribution of CDDP within the particles, and high encapsulation efficiency (>70%) of the drug was achieved. NPs were produced with either a core-shell (CS) or a matrix (uniform) structure. It was shown that CS NPs had the most sustained release of the 2 formulations, demonstrating a slower linear release post initial "burst" and longer duration. The role of particle architecture on the rate of drug release in vitro was confirmed by fitting the experimental data with various kinetic models. This indicated that the release process was a simple diffusion mechanism. The CS NPs were effectively internalized into the endolysosomal compartments of cancer cells and demonstrated an increased cytotoxic efficacy (concentration of a drug that gives half maximal response [EC50] reaching 6.2 µM) compared to free drug (EC50 =9 µM) and uniform CDDP-distributed NPs (EC50 =7.6 µM) in vitro. Thus, these experiments indicate that engineering the structure of PLGA NPs can be exploited to control both the dosage and the release characteristics for improved clinical chemotherapy treatment.

In vivo acoustic super-resolution and super-resolved velocity mapping using microbubbles.

The structure of microvasculature cannot be resolved using standard clinical ultrasound (US) imaging frequencies due to the fundamental diffraction limit of US waves. In this work, we use a standard clinical US system to perform in vivo sub-diffraction imaging on a CD1, female mouse aged eight weeks by localizing isolated US signals from microbubbles flowing within the ear microvasculature, and compare our results to optical microscopy. Furthermore, we develop a new technique to map blood velocity at super-resolution by tracking individual bubbles through the vasculature. Resolution is improved from a measured lateral and axial resolution of 112 µm and 94 µ m respectively in original US data, to super-resolved images of microvasculature where vessel features as fine as 19 µm are clearly visualized. Velocity maps clearly distinguish opposing flow direction and separated speed distributions in adjacent vessels, thereby enabling further differentiation between vessels otherwise not spatially separated in the image. This technique overcomes the diffraction limit to provide a noninvasive means of imaging the microvasculature at super-resolution, to depths of many centimeters. In the future, this method could noninvasively image pathological or therapeutic changes in the microvasculature at centimeter depths in vivo.

Albumin coated microbubble optimization: custom fabrication and comprehensive characterization.

Gas microbubbles are used routinely to improve contrast in medical diagnostic imaging. The emerging fields of microbubble-enhanced quantitative imaging and microbubble-enhanced drug delivery have further enhanced the drive toward microbubble characterization and design techniques. The quest to improve efficiency, particularly in the field of drug delivery, presents a requirement to develop methods to manipulate microbubble properties to improve utility. This article presents an investigation in to the feasibility of influencing albumin shelled microbubble properties through the variation of albumin availability during fabrication. Microbubbles were fabricated from albumin suspensions of varying concentration before thorough physical and acoustic characterization. Microbubbles with shells fabricated from a 2% albumin suspension had a greater scattering to attenuation ratio (STAR) than 10% albumin preparations (4.4% and 2.2%, respectively) and approximately double the nonlinear STAR (from 0.7% to 1.5%). The 2% microbubbles also exhibited greater (up to 40%), more violent radial oscillations during high speed imaging than 5% and 10% preparations. The results show that microbubble characteristics can be simply manipulated in the lab and indicate that for a given application this may provide the opportunity to further enhance favorable characteristics.

Effect of albumin and dextrose concentration on ultrasound and microbubble mediated gene transfection in vivo.

Ultrasound and microbubble mediated gene transfection has great potential for site-selective, safe gene delivery. Albumin-based microbubbles have shown the greatest transfection efficiency but have not been optimised specifically for this purpose. Additionally, few studies have highlighted desirable properties for transfection specific microbubbles. In this article, microbubbles were made with 2% or 5% (w/v) albumin and 20% or 40% (w/v) dextrose solutions, yielding four distinct bubble types. These were acoustically characterised and their efficiency in transfecting a luciferase plasmid (pGL4.13) into female, CD1 mice myocardia was measured. For either albumin concentration, increasing the dextrose concentration increased scattering, attenuation and resistance to ultrasound, resulting in significantly increased transfection. A significant interaction was noted between albumin and dextrose; 2% albumin bubbles made with 20% dextrose showed the least transfection but the most transfection with 40% dextrose. This trend was seen for both nonlinear scattering and attenuation behaviour but not for resistance to ultrasound or total scatter. We have determined that the attenuation behaviour is an important microbubble characteristic for effective gene transfection using ultrasound. Microbubble behaviour can also be simply controlled by altering the initial ingredients used during manufacture.