Nonlinear oscillation characteristics of magnetic microbubbles under acoustic and magnetic fields

Microbubbles loaded with magnetic nanoparticles (MMBs) have attracted increasing interests in multimode imaging and drug/gene delivery and targeted therapy. However, the dynamic behaviors generated in diagnostic and therapeutic applications are not clear. In the present work, a novel theoretical model of a single MMB was developed, and the dynamic responses in an infinite viscous fluid were investigated under simultaneous exposure to magnetic and acoustic fields. The results showed that the amplitude reduces and the resonant frequency increases with the strength of the applied steady magnetic field and the susceptibility of the magnetic shell. However, the magnetic field has a limited influence on the oscillating. It is also noticed that the responses of MMB to a time-varying magnetic field is different from a steady magnetic field. The subharmonic components increase firstly and then decrease with the frequency of the magnetic field and the enhanced effect is related to the acoustic driving frequency. It is indicated that there may be a coupling interaction effect between the acoustic and magnetic fields.