The development of nanobiology requires a fundamental understanding of the interaction features between light and cells as well as cells containing nanoparticles. In this study, the generalized multiparticle Mie (GMM) theory was employed to calculate the scattering properties of cells under refractive index matching conditions. The angular distribution of scattered light is statistically averaged to obtain a good fit for the experimental results. Based on a simplified cell model, the variabilities between the scattered light pattern of normal cells and that of cancerous cells were examined. The results indicate that the small angle scattering is sensitive to the organelle distribution, which could be applied in the diagnostics of cancerous cells. Finally, the effects of cellular uptake of nanoparticles on the scattering pattern was also investigated.
Based on the Church-Hoff model, the nonlinear oscillations of a single encapsulated microbubble with a finite thickness shell are theoretically studied. The effects of viscoelasticity on radial oscillations and the fundamental and harmonic components are researched. The peaks of radial oscillations and magnitudes of power spectra of the fundamental and harmonic components all increase gradually with the shear modulus of shell varying from 0 to 10 MPa by an interval of 0. 1 MPa at the same shear viscosity, while they decrease as the shear viscosity increases from 0 to 1 Pa · s by an interval of 0. 01 Pa · s at the same shear modulus. The fluctuation ranges of subharmonic and ultraharmonic signals are much larger than both the fundamental and second harmonic components. It means that the effect of viscoelasticity on the subharmonic and ultraharmonic signals is greater than that on the fundamental and second harmonic components. So adjusting the viscoelasticity of the shell is a potential method to obtain a perfect microbubble contrast agent used for the subharmonic and ultraharmonic imaging. Four points with significant fundamental and harmonic components are chosen as an example： a shear viscosity of 0. 39 Pa · s with shear modulus of 3.9, 6. 6, and 8.6 MPa, respectively; a shear modulus of 6.6 MPa with a shear viscosity of 0.42 Pa · s.
A system for in vitro investigation of ultrasound contrast agent＇s enhancement effect is presented and evaluated. It includes the digital B-mode ultrasound scanner Belson3000A, the tissue-mimicking ultrasound phantoms and the software which is used for image quantitative analysis. The linear range, optimal settings and repeatability of the system are assessed and explored by scanning the ultrasound phantoms with different reflective intensities. The measurements are performed under an acoustic power from 4.8 to 12.3 mW, the scanner centre frequency is 3.5 MH and the gain setting is 50 dB. Both a self-made surfactant encapsulated microbubble and a commercial ultrasound contrast agent are scanned. The results show that the pixel intensity of ultrasonic images increases with the increase in the sound power, and for the stronger reflective phantoms of more particles, the increasing trend is much more evident. The system is optimal for evaluating the microbubble contrast agents＇ enhancement effects. It presents a simple, effective and real-time means for characterizing the enhancement ability of microbubbles.
