Comparing strategies for magnetic functionalisation of microbubbles

The advancement of ultrasound-mediated therapy has stimulated the development of drug-loaded microbubble agents that can be targeted to a region of interest through an applied magnetic field prior to ultrasound activation. However, the need to incorporate therapeutic molecules while optimizing the responsiveness to both magnetic and acoustic fields and maintaining adequate stability poses a considerable challenge for microbubble synthesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate three different methods for incorporating iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) into phospholipid-coated microbubbles using (1) hydrophobic IONPs within an oil layer below the microbubble shell, (2) phospholipid-stabilized IONPs within the shell, or (3) hydrophilic IONPs noncovalently bound to the surface of the microbubble. All microbubbles exhibited similar acoustic response at both 1 and 7 MHz. The half-life of the microbubbles was more than doubled by the addition of IONPs by using both surface and phospholipid-mediated loading metho...