title: Investigating perfluorohexane particles with high-frequency ultrasound.
abstract: Submicron particles filled with liquid perfluorocarbon are currently being studied as a potential ultrasound-targeted contrast agent. The objective of this study was to evaluate the scattering properties of these particles. Sets of perfluorohexane-filled particles of different average sizes (300 nm to 1000 nm) were produced with a constant total volume fraction. The attenuation coefficient was measured in the 15- to 50-MHz frequency range and was found to increase smoothly with frequency and to be independent of the amplitude and bandwidth of the transmitted pulse. The values range from 0.31 to 0.64 dB/mm at 30 MHz for mean particle size ranging from 970 to 310 nm, respectively. The backscattering spectra of the particle solutions were measured and showed no sign of nonlinear scattering. The backscattering coefficient increased with the power 3.9 +/- 0.3 of the frequency. These results confirm that liquid perfluorocarbon droplets behave as linear Rayleigh scatterers.
authors.affiliation: Imaging Research, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada. olicou@swri.ca
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Couture
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Bevan
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cherin
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Peter N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: F Stuart
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Foster
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D049329:Nanostructures; D010316:Particle Size; D011145:Polyvinyls; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D014465:Ultrasonics; D005465:Fluorocarbon Polymers
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D011145:Polyvinyls; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; C024865:polyvinylidene fluoride; D005465:Fluorocarbon Polymers; C078626:perflexane