Acoustic manipulation on microbubbles along arbitrary trajectories and adjustable destination

Abstract

Non-diffracting Bessel acoustic beam that propagates in three dimensions has the properties of self-healing, self-bending, and self-acceleration, giving them many potential applications. Here, we report a zero-order Bessel-like acoustic beam that propagates along a curved trajectory with a phase-modulating acoustic holographic lens. Its pressure distribution on the transverse section approximately conforms to the zero-order Bessel function, and the self-healing property is found. In addition, the maximum point of acoustic intensity on the beam mainlobe can be adjusted by the change in the acoustic frequency. Microbubbles can be forced toward the maximum point along the predefined curve. Therefore, such a beam can be used for the directional transportation of microbubbles with a predefined curve and an adjustable destination. We have numerically calculated the primary Bjerknes force, including the oscillation of the microbubbles with the shell and experimentally proved the curved trajectory and the adjustable destination of the transportation of microbubbles. The proposed method uses the conservative part of the radiation force, which controls the trajectory of microbubbles by the amplitude gradient. The relatively free design of the transport trajectory and destination makes the approach suitable in vivo.