Enhanced microbubble-mediated cavitation by using acoustic droplet vaporization

Abstract

Acoustic cavitation serves various therapeutic purposes, with both microbubbles and phase-transit droplets serving as potential cavitation nuclei. This project focused on investigating the intricate interaction between microbubbles and droplets and the resultant impact on acoustic cavitation.To facilitate this investigation, microbubbles with a negative potential of −51.58 mV were prepared, while droplets were endowed with a positive potential of +4.22 mV, facilitating the formation of microbubble-droplet clusters. Microscopic analysis was employed to observe the morphology of these clusters, revealing an initial mean size of 4.85 µm before ultrasound activation and subsequent transformation into larger bubbles with a mean size of 12.54 µm after ultrasound activation. The experimental approach involved the use of varying driven voltages to generate ultrasound waves with different intensities. A passive cavitation detector (PCD) was then employed to capture cavitation signals. Results demonstrated that, when maintaining a microbubble ratio of 50% and varying droplet ratios from 0% to 50%, the driven voltage at which the cavitation peak appeared decreased from 180 mV to 140 mV. Additionally, the mean cavitation intensity exhibited an initial increase from 0.58 to 0.78, followed by a subsequent decrease from 0.78 to 0.63 after normalization.This study provided valuable insights into the dynamic interactions between microbubbles and droplets. Specifically, it showed that microbubble cavitation transferred energy to droplets, leading to the generation of larger bubbles and higher cavitation intensity. Nevertheless, the observed cavitation intensity and threshold were contingent upon the ratios of microbubbles and droplets. Notably, to achieve an ideal cavitation intensity, the energy generated by microbubble cavitation must be substantial enough to activate all droplets, inducing acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV) and cavitation.