NSF Award
2426784
Therapeutic ultrasound technology kills cancer with high intensity, high frequency sound waves. The sound waves generate small bubbles that rupture nearby cancer cells. Therapeutic ultrasound procedures can achieve the same goals as surgery without an incision, leading to shorter recovery times and lower costs. One thing not well understand about therapeutic ultrasound is the amount of bubble activity needed for the procedure to be successful. In this NSF/FDA Scholars-in-Residence project, a molecule that shifts its chemical signature in response to mechanical forces generated by microbubbles will be developed. Changes in the chemical signature will be measured during application of ultrasound in a tissue phantom to help the U.S. Food and Drug Administration determine guidelines for bubble-based medical devices. Curriculum for high school physics classes will be developed in collaboration with Chicago Public Schools based on the findings generated in this study. <br/> <br/>Microbubbles are an active area of research, in part because of their ability to force soft materials like tissue into extreme loading conditions. Noninvasive focused ultrasound systems exploit this property of microbubbles to break down malignancies, achieving the same goals as surgery without requiring an incision. There is clear potential for this technology, though the conditions that result in the failure of tissue structures remain unclear. This gap-in-knowledge limits guidance the U.S. FDA can provide to medical device developers, which inhibits growth of the field. The development of ultrasound therapies is therefore outpacing regulatory sciences, indicating the need for fundamental research into the mechanisms of microbubble-induced fatigue for soft materials. To address this need, the scientific premise of this project is advances in mechanochemistry can be used to quantify microbubble-induced deformation. An imprintable mechanophore formulation will be used to capture transient microbubble stresses in the following aims: Studies in Aim 1 will develop and characterize a mechanophore-based tissue phantom. Data collected in Aim 2 will determine the extent over which soft materials are stressed by microbubbles. Finally, the link between stresses, cell death, and other markers of microbubble activity will be established in Aim 3. This project will produce new knowledge on the interaction of microbubbles with soft materials, and a regulatory tool (e.g., tissue phantom) to assess new focused ultrasound devices. Educational and outreach activities are planned to disseminate findings into public forums and didactic school curriculum. Further, the postdoctoral fellow trained in this project will contribute to a globally competitive STEM workforce.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
