Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026
10:40
Fabricating and Labeling Microbubbles with Fluorescent and Radioactive Tracers
Published on: January 24, 2025
Long-term stability by lipid coating monodisperse microbubbles formed by a flow-focusing device
Esra Talu1, Monica M Lozano, Robert L Powell
1Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science and Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|November 1, 2006
Summary
Long-term stability of monodisperse microbubbles was achieved using lipid encapsulation. This technique controls microbubble behavior, maintaining a narrow size distribution for months.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Microbubbles are crucial for various applications, including drug delivery and imaging.
- Producing stable, monodisperse microbubbles remains a challenge.
- Flow focusing is a promising technique for microbubble generation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate long-term stabilization of monodisperse microbubbles produced by flow focusing.
- To investigate the mechanisms governing microbubble stability, including lipid phase behavior, dissolution, Ostwald ripening, and coalescence.
- To identify compositional factors controlling microbubble stability.
Main Methods:
- Utilized flow focusing for microbubble production.
- Employed lipid encapsulation for stabilization.
- Applied fluorescence microscopy, high-speed camera imaging, and particle size analysis to study microbubble behavior.
- Varied lipid, emulsifier, and viscosity agents in the formulation.
Main Results:
- Lipid encapsulation effectively stabilized monodisperse microbubbles.
- Compositional adjustments controlled microbubble dissolution, Ostwald ripening, and coalescence.
- Microbubbles coated with lipid and PEG emulsifier in a viscous solution exhibited a narrow size distribution (average diameter = 51 µm, SD = 4 µm).
- This narrow size distribution was maintained for up to several months.
Conclusions:
- Long-term stabilization of monodisperse microbubbles is achievable via lipid encapsulation and flow focusing.
- Controlling lipid phase behavior and formulation composition is key to enhancing microbubble stability.
- The developed method offers a robust approach for producing stable microbubbles for extended periods.