Enhanced thrombolytic effect induced by acoustic cavitation generated from nitrogen-doped annealed nanodiamond particles

• Published in: Ultrasonics sonochemistry 2023-10, Vol.99, p.106563, Article 106563
• Main Authors: Zhang, Qi, Xue, Honghui, Zhang, Haijun, Chen, Yuqi, Liu, Zijun, Fan, Zheng, Guo, Xiasheng, Wu, Xiaoge, Zhang, Dong, Tu, Juan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Inertial cavitation; Mote-induced nucleation; Nitrogen doped nanodiamond; Original; Passive cavitation detection; Ultrasound thrombolysis
• ISSN: 1350-4177; 1873-2828; 1873-2828
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2023.106563

[Display omitted] •Cavitation potential of nitrogen-doped annealed nanodiamond (N-AND) were studied.•Suspension concentration & ultrasound cycle number affected cavitation of N-AND.•Enhanced cavitation & thrombolytic effect was achieved by N-AND.•Mechanism of N-AND cavitation was discussed with mote-induced nucleation theory. In biomedical research, ultrasonic cavitation, especially inertial cavitation (IC) has attracted extensive attentions due to its ability to induce mechanical, chemical and thermal effects. Like ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) microbubbles or droplets, acoustic cavitation can be effectively triggered beyond a certain pressure threshold through the interaction between ultrasound and nucleation particles, leading to an enhanced thrombolytic effect. As a newly developed nanocarbon material, nitrogen-doped annealed nanodiamond (N-AND) has shown promising catalytic performance. To further explore its effects on ultrasonic cavitation, N-AND was synthesized at the temperature of 1000 °C. After systematic material characterization, the potential of N-AND to induce enhanced IC activity was assessed for the first time by using passive cavitation detection (PCD). Based on experiments performed at varied material suspension concentration and cycle number, N-AND demonstrated a strong capability to generate significant cavitation characteristics, indicating the formation of stable bubbles from the surface of the materials. Furthermore, N-AND was applied in the in vitro thrombolysis experiments to verify its contribution to ultrasound thrombolysis. The influence of surface hydrophobicity on the cavitation potentials of ND and N-AND was innovatively discussed in combination with the theory of mote-induced nucleation. It is found that the cavitation stability of N-AND was better than that of the commercial UCA microbubbles. This study would provide better understanding of the potential of novel carbonous nanomaterials as cavitation nuclei and is expected to provide guidance for their future biomedical and industrial applications.