On-chip production of nanometer sized 'Ultra fine' bubble populations

Microbubble (MB) contrast agents have been used for many years as image enhancers for medical Ultrasound (US). Ultra-Fine bubble (UFB) populations of bubbles <1 µm in diameter are a relatively new technology that has found use as highly effective ‘eco’ cleaning agents. High-resolution US imaging is another potentially exciting area for UFB. This paper reports the on-chip production of UFB populations with a diameter of ~ 500 – 700 nm at a concentration of 10¹⁰ bub / mL. These UFB showed US scattering at higher frequency fields and enhanced contrast when imaging in in vivo mouse models.