Manufacture of concentrated, lipid-based oxygen microbubble emulsions by high shear homogenization and serial concentration

Gas-filled microbubbles have been developed as ultrasound contrast and drug delivery agents. Microbubbles can be produced by processing surfactants using sonication, mechanical agitation, microfluidic devices, or homogenization. Recently, lipid-based oxygen microbubbles (LOMs) have been designed to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of visualized experiments 2014-05 (87)
Main Authors: Thomson, Lindsay M, Polizzotti, Brian D, McGowan, Frances X, Kheir, John N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bioengineering
Emulsions
Lipids - chemistry
Microbubbles
Oxygen - chemistry
Rheology
Shear Strength
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Summary:Gas-filled microbubbles have been developed as ultrasound contrast and drug delivery agents. Microbubbles can be produced by processing surfactants using sonication, mechanical agitation, microfluidic devices, or homogenization. Recently, lipid-based oxygen microbubbles (LOMs) have been designed to deliver oxygen intravenously during medical emergencies, reversing life-threatening hypoxemia, and preventing subsequent organ injury, cardiac arrest, and death. We present methods for scaled-up production of highly oxygenated microbubbles using a closed-loop high-shear homogenizer. The process can produce 2 L of concentrated LOMs (90% by volume) in 90 min. Resulting bubbles have a mean diameter of ~2 μm, and a rheologic profile consistent with that of blood when diluted to 60 volume %. This technique produces LOMs in high capacity and with high oxygen purity, suggesting that this technique may be useful for translational research labs.
ISSN:1940-087X
1940-087X
DOI:10.3791/51467