Microbubble attenuation and destruction: are they involved in sonoporation efficiency?

This technical note investigates the involvement of microbubble attenuation and destruction in sonoporation mechanisms. First, we evaluate sonoporation efficiency using Vevo Micromarker, and a comparison is made with BR14 and SonoVue microbubbles. Then, the acoustical properties of the microbubbles are measured to gain insight into the sonoporation mechanisms using a green fluorescent protein as a marker. Using glioblastoma cells, an unprecedented transfection rate of 70% is reached with Vevo Micromarker, corresponding to a 1.5-fold increase compared with the rate achieved with the other microbubbles. Moreover, attenuation and destruction were shown to be two key parameters in sonoporation efficiency.