Sensors, Vol. 19, Pages 3959: Ferrogels Ultrasonography for Biomedical Applications

Sensors, Vol. 19, Pages 3959: Ferrogels Ultrasonography for Biomedical Applications Sensors doi: 10.3390/s19183959 Authors: Felix A. Blyakhman Sergey Yu Sokolov Alexander P. Safronov Olga A. Dinislamova Tatyana F. Shklyar Andrey Yu Zubarev Galina V. Kurlyandskaya Ferrogels (FG) are magnetic composites that are widely used in the area of biomedical engineering and biosensing. In this work, ferrogels with different concentrations of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were synthesized by the radical polymerization of acrylamide in stabilized aqueous ferrofluid. FG samples were prepared in various shapes that are suitable for different characterization techniques. Thin cylindrical samples were used to simulate the case of targeted drug delivery test through blood vessels. Samples of larger size that were in the shape of cylindrical plates were used for the evaluation of the FG applicability as substitutes for damaged structures, such as bone or cartilage tissues. Regardless of the shape of the samples and the conditions of their location, the boundaries of FG were confidently visualized over the entire range of concentrations of MNPs while using medical ultrasound. The amplitude of the reflected echo signal was higher for the higher concentration of MNPs in the gel. This result was not related to the influence of the MNPs on the intensity of the reflected echo signal directly, since the wavelength of the ultrasonic effect used is much larger than the particle size....
Source: Sensors - Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research