Engineering researchers have developed a new technique for eliminating particularly tough blood clots, using engineered nanodroplets and an ultrasound ‘drill’ to break up the clots from the inside out. The technique has not yet gone through clinical testing. In vitro testing has shown promising results.
Specifically, the new approach is designed to treat retracted blood clots, which form over extended periods of time and are especially dense. These clots are particularly difficult to treat because they are less porous than other clots, making it hard for drugs that dissolve blood clots to penetrate into the clot.
The new technique has two key components: the nanodroplets and the ultrasound drill.
The nanodroplets consist of tiny lipid spheres that are filled with liquid perfluorocarbons (PFCs). Specifically, the nanodroplets are filled with low-boiling-point PFCs, which means that a small amount of ultrasound energy will cause the liquid to convert into gas. As they convert into a gas, the PFCs expand rapidly, vaporizing the nanodroplets and forming microscopic bubbles.
«We introduce nanodroplets to the site of the clot, and because the nanodroplets are so small, they are able to penetrate and convert to microbubbles within the clots when they are exposed to ultrasound,» says Leela Goel, first author of a paper on the work. Goel is a Ph.D. student in the joint biomedical engineering department at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
After the microbubbles form within the clots, the continued exposure of the clots to ultrasound oscillates the microbubbles. The rapid vibration of the microbubbles causes them to behave like tiny jackhammers, disrupting the clot’s physical structure, and helping to dissolve the clots. This vibration also creates larger holes in the clot mass that allow blood borne anti-clotting drugs to penetrate deep into the clot and further break it down.
Story Source: Materials provided by North Carolina State University. Original written by Matt Shipman. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.