More Than Bubbles: Creating Phase-Shift Droplets from Commercially Available Ultrasound Contrast Agents

Phase-shift perfluorocarbon droplets have been investigated for over 20 years as pre-clinical ultrasound contrast agents with distinctive advantages in imaging and therapy. A number of formulation strategies exist, each with inherent advantages and limitations. In this note, we demonstrate a unique opportunity: that phase-shift droplets can be generated directly from commercially available microbubbles. This may facilitate pre-clinical and translational development by reducing the in-house synthesis expertise and resources required to generate high concentration droplet emulsions. Proof-of-principle in vitro and in vivo is given using droplets created from Definity and MicroMarker. The results demonstrate the role of perfluorocarbon choice in the trade-off between thermal stability and vaporization threshold, and suggest that commercial microbubbles with decafluorobutane cores may be ideal for this approach.