Water-dispersible PVA-based dry microballoons with potential for biomedical applications

Tzvetkov, George; Paradossi, Gaio; Tortora, Mariarosaria; Fernandes, Paulo; Fery, Andreas; Graf-Zeiler, Birgit A.; Fink, R.

doi:10.1016/j.msec.2009.12.007

Cited by 19 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…This is also supported by an independent determination of the shell thickness obtained by freezefracture electron microscopy. 30 As shown in Fig. 3 the PVA fibrils contain a shell of approximate thickness 400 nm (as indicated by arrows).…”

mentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The floating microbubbles were purified extensively in a separatory funnel. In a previous paper 30 we highlighted the possibility to freeze-dry the aqueous dispersion containing the purified microbubbles and reconstitute them in water at a fixed concentration. This feature is key for the use of microbubbles as a carrier of therapeutic gases such as nitric oxide known to have a role in clot disruption and endothelial repair.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Optical characterization of an individual polymer-shelled microbubble structure via digital holography

et al. 2012

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Microbubbles are often used as ultrasound contrast agents for sonography. However, polymer-shelled microbubbles have the potential to support also additional functionalities such as, for example, targeted drug delivery. Using digital holographic microscopy we demonstrate that structural information on individual bubbles can be retrieved with high precision combined with low costs and short acquisition time. We have characterized the distributions of size, shell thickness and refractive index for hundreds of polymeric microbubbles showing that shell thickness displays a large variation that is strongly correlated with its refractive index. A large thickness corresponds to a smaller refractive index indicating a possible mechanism of progressive shell swelling with water

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confidence: 94%

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confidence: 99%

Optical characterization of an individual polymer-shelled microbubble structure via digital holography

et al. 2012

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“…Like plain PVA MBs, G/PVA MBs maintain the ability to reconstitute from the freeze-dried state. 45 This is a common practice in the pharma industry, already used for phospholipids shelled microbubbles. 46 The effective reconstitution of G/PVA MBs after freeze-drying is confirmed by the ultrasound acoustic behavior (see attenuation measurements of G/PVA MBs before and after freeze-drying reported in Figure S5 of the Supporting Information).…”

Section: Graphene Aqueous Dispersion Preparationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Graphene Meets Microbubbles: A Superior Contrast Agent for Photoacoustic Imaging

Toumia

Domenici

Orlanducci

et al. 2016

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Coupling graphene with a soft polymer surface offers the possibility to build hybrid constructs with new electrical, optical, and mechanical properties. However, the low reactivity of graphene is a hurdle in the synthesis of such systems which is often bypassed by oxidizing its carbon planar structure. However, the defects introduced with this process jeopardize the properties of graphene. In this paper we present a different approach, applicable to many different polymer surfaces, which uses surfactant assisted ultrasonication to exfoliate, and simultaneously suspend, graphene in water in its intact form. Tethering pristine graphene sheets to the surfaces is accomplished by using suitable reactive functional groups of the surfactant scaffold. We focused on applying this approach to the fabrication of a hybrid system, made of pristine graphene tethered to poly(vinyl alcohol) based microbubbles (PVA MBs), designed for enhancing photoacoustic signals. Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is a powerful preclinical diagnostic tool which provides real time images at a resolution of 40 μm. The leap toward clinical imaging has so far been hindered by the limited tissues penetration of near-infrared (NIR) pulsed laser radiation. Many academic and industrial research laboratories have met this challenge by designing devices, each with pros and cons, to enhance the photoacoustic (PA) signal. The major advantages of the hybrid graphene/PVA MBs construct, however, are (i) the preservation of graphene properties, (ii) biocompatibility, a consequence of the robust anchoring of pristine graphene to the bioinert surface of the PVA bubble, and (iii) a very good enhancement in a NIR spectral region of the PA signal, which does not overlap with the signals of PA active endogenous molecules such as hemoglobin.

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“…The microballoons fabricated after further surface functionalization were utilized in ultrasound imaging and targeted drug delivery [78] Preparation of mesoporous silica microspheres with multi-hollow cores…”

Section: Chitosanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hollow microspheres as a drug carrier: An overview of fabrication andin vivocharacterization techniques

Kurrey¹,

Suresh²,

Singh³

2014

Chron Young Sci

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Oral controlled release dosage forms encounter several physiological constraints like inability to retain and locate the controlled drug delivery system within the desired region of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) due to variation in gastric emptying. This leads to non-uniform absorption profile, insufficient drug release and shorter residence time of the dosage form in the stomach. As the fallout of this event, there is incomplete absorption of the drug having absorption window especially, in the upper part of GIT. These considerations have led to the development of oral controlled release dosage forms with gastroretentive properties. Hollow microspheres hold promise as one of the potential approaches for gastric retention. Hollow microspheres are spherical empty particles without core and can remain in the gastric region for prolonged periods. They significantly extend the gastric residence time of drugs, thereby improving bioavailability, reduced the drug waste and improved solubility for drugs that are less soluble at a higher pH environment. This review attempts to bring more insight into recent advances in methods of fabrication techniques and applications of hollow microspheres.

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Water-dispersible PVA-based dry microballoons with potential for biomedical applications

Cited by 19 publications

References 32 publications

Optical characterization of an individual polymer-shelled microbubble structure via digital holography

Optical characterization of an individual polymer-shelled microbubble structure via digital holography

Graphene Meets Microbubbles: A Superior Contrast Agent for Photoacoustic Imaging

Hollow microspheres as a drug carrier: An overview of fabrication andin vivocharacterization techniques

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