The possibility of hazard in medical and industrial applications of ultrasound

Foodomics revealed the effects of ultrasonic extraction on the composition and nutrition of cactus fruit (Opuntia ficus-indica) seed oil

Cactus is a tropical fruit with a high nutritional value; however, little information is available regarding the comprehensive utilization of its byproducts. This study aimed to explore the composition and nutritional value of cactus fruit seed oil (CFO) and reveal the effects of ultrasound-assisted extraction and traditional solvent extraction on oil quality. Foodomics analysis showed that CFO extracted using a traditional solvent is rich in linolenic acid (9c12cC18:2, 57.46 ± 0.84 %), α-tocopherol (20.01 ± 1.86 mg/100 g oil), and canolol (200.10 ± 1.21 μg/g). Compared to traditional solvent extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction can significantly increase the content of lipid concomitants in CFO, whereas excessive ultrasound intensity may lead to the oxidation of oils and the formation of free radicals. Analysis of the thermal properties showed that ultrasound had no effect on the crystallization or melting behavior of CFO. To further demonstrate the nutritional value of CFO, a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lipid metabolism imbalance model was used. Lipidomics analysis showed that CFO significantly reduced the content of oxidized phospholipids stimulated by LPS and increased the content of highly bioactive metabolites such as ceramides, thus alleviating LPS-induced damage in C. elegans. Hence, CFO is a functional oil with high value, and ultrasound-assisted extraction is advocated. These findings provide new insights into the comprehensive utilization of cactus fruits.

Biomedical applications of radiation force of ultrasound: historical roots and physical basis

Radiation force is a universal phenomenon in any wave motion, electromagnetic or acoustic. Although acoustic and electromagnetic waves are both characterized by time variation of basic quantities, they are also both capable of exerting a steady force called radiation force. In 1902, Lord Rayleigh published his classic work on the radiation force of sound, introducing the concept of acoustic radiation pressure, and some years later, further fundamental contributions to the radiation force phenomenon were made by L. Brillouin and P. Langevin. Many of the studies discussing radiation force published before 1990 were related to techniques for measuring acoustic power of therapeutic devices; also, radiation force was one of the factors considered in the search for noncavitational, nonthermal mechanisms of ultrasonic bioeffects. A major surge in various biomedical applications of acoustic radiation force started in the 1990s and continues today. Numerous new applications emerged including manipulation of cells in suspension, increasing the sensitivity of biosensors and immunochemical tests, assessing viscoelastic properties of fluids and biological tissues, elasticity imaging, monitoring ablation of lesions during ablation therapy, targeted drug and gene delivery, molecular imaging and acoustical tweezers. We briefly present in this review the major milestones in the history of radiation force and its biomedical applications. In discussing the physical basis of radiation force and its applications, we present basic equations describing the relationship of radiation stress with parameters of acoustical fields and with the induced motion in the biological media. Momentum and force associated with a plane-traveling wave, equations for nonlinear and nonsteady-state acoustic streams, radiation stress tensor for solids and biological tissues and radiation force acting on particles and microbubbles are considered.

Biological effects of ultrasound: development of safety guidelines. Part I: personal histories

After the end of World War II, advances in ultrasound (US) technology brought improved possibilities for medical applications. The first major efforts in this direction were in the use of US to treat diseases. Medical studies were accompanied by experiments with laboratory animals and other model systems to investigate basic biological questions and to obtain better understanding of mechanisms. Also, improvements were made in methods for measuring and controlling acoustical quantities such as power, intensity and pressure. When diagnostic US became widely used, the scope of biological and physical studies was expanded to include conditions for addressing relevant safety matters. In this historical review, a major part of the story is told by 21 investigators who took part in it. Each was invited to prepare a brief personal account of his/her area(s) of research, emphasizing the "early days," but including later work, showing how late and early work are related, if possible, and including anecdotal material about mentors, colleagues, etc.

Calcium and the effects of ultrasound on frog skin

Therapeutic ultrasound is used to enhance the repair of soft tissue, muscle, etc., and because many of the cellular reactions involved in these processes are dependent on the intracellular availability of free calcium ions, it becomes important to study the effects of ultrasound in the presence and the absence of calcium ions. Using frog skin as a biological model, the effect of therapeutic ultrasound (300 mW/cm2 1 MHz CW) was investigated. Sonication for two minutes caused a significantly larger increase in total ionic conductance (Gt) in the presence of calcium ions (140% vs. 27%). However, the time constant for Gt to return to steady state was significantly longer in calcium-free solutions (122 vs. 18 min.). This study demonstrates that the biological effects of ultrasound are influenced by calcium ions. Furthermore, the recovery time constants confirm recent findings regarding the function of calcium ions in the formation of tight junctions. The role of free radicals produced by cavitation and calcium potentiated lipid and protein peroxidation is discussed.

The effect of gas bubbles on the production of ultrasound hyperthermia at 0.75 MHz: a phantom study

Transparent phantoms, made of bovine hide gelatine, have been constructed in order to study the consequences of the occurrence of cavitation in tissues. Gas pockets of about resonant size, physically introduced into the gel, lead to a mean temperature rise of 41 +/- 15 degrees C in 1 min, when the gel of concentration 11.4% (w/v) is sonicated in the continuous-wave (cw) mode at 1 W cm-2 (spatial average) and 0.75 MHz. Nyborg (1965) has shown that gas bubbles in a sound field can act as acoustic amplifiers and the observations reported here may be connected with this feature. A layer of gelatine foam was also used to introduce gas into the gel and in this case the temperature rise was about 12 +/- 5 degrees C under similar conditions. Without gaseous inclusions, the mean temperature rise in gel in 1 min was 2.3 +/- 0.2 degree C. At a gel/air interface, the rise per unit intensity per minute was 4.4 degrees C. It is concluded that in clinical situations, cavitation (or degassing due to supersaturation), when it does occur, is likely to be an undesirable consequence of ultrasound treatment. This finding, of large temperature rises in proximity to gas bubbles, is in broad agreement with the report by Hynynen (1991) of an excess temperature elevation of 60 degrees C in dogs' muscle in vivo during a 1 s pulse at 250 W cm-2 and 0.56 MHz. Other studies, by ter Haar and Daniels (1981) and Daniels and ter Haar (1986), of sonicated animal tissues in vivo, have found thresholds for bubble inception but no consequent temperature rise greater than 0.3 degrees C was observed.

The effect of microwave radiation on the cell genome

Cultured V79 Chinese hamster cells were exposed to continuous radiation, frequency 7.7 GHz, power density 30 mW/cm2 for 15, 30, and 60 min. The parameters investigated were the incorporation of [3H]thymidine and the frequency of chromosome aberrations. Data obtained by 2 methods (the incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA and autoradiography) showed that the inhibition of [3H]thymidine incorporation took place by complete prevention of DNA from entering into the S phase. The normal rate of incorporation of [3H]thymidine was recovered within 1 generation cycle of V79 cells. Mutagenic tests performed concurrently showed that even DNA macromolecules were involved in the process. In comparison with the control samples there was a higher frequency of specific chromosome lesions in cells that had been irradiated. Results discussed in this study suggest that microwave radiation causes changes in the synthesis as well as in the structure of DNA molecules.

Ultrasonic degradation of DNA

Different results are obtained when DNA in aqueous solution and DNA in biological tissue are exposed to ultrasound. At intensities of ultrasound comparable to those applied clinically, ultrasonication is able to degrade purified DNA in aqueous solution, making ultrasonication a useful tool for preparing DNA fragments in vitro. Ultrasonic degradation of DNA in solution occurs by breaking hydrogen bonds and by single-strand and double-strand ruptures of the DNA helix. Two mechanisms are mainly responsible: cavitation and a thermal or mechanical effect. Stable cavitation is seen at low intensities of ultrasound. Increasing the intensity of the ultrasound above 2 W/cm2 is followed by increases in single-strand ruptures due to the creation of free radicals by transient cavitation. Following sonication, the distribution of the resulting DNA fragments approaches a lower size limit of 100-500 bp. Breaks in the DNA helix occur mainly between oxygen and carbon atoms, resulting in DNA fragments with a phosphorylated 5' end and a free alcohol at the 3' end. The relative lack of specificity in degrading the DNA helix makes ultrasonication a complementary alternative to the highly specific fragmentation obtained by restriction endonucleases.

Enhancement of hyperthermic cell killing by non-thermal effect of ultrasound

The present study was performed to elucidate the mechanism of enhanced hyperthermic cell killing by a non-thermal effect (cavitation and direct effect) of ultrasound under various gas conditions. Cavitation, as indicated by formation of DNA double-strand breaks and liberation of potassium iodide, was completely inhibited under N2O-saturated conditions, while it was promoted under O2-, Ar-, and N2-saturated conditions. Mouse L cells were treated with ultrasound (1 MHz continuous wave, spatial peak temporal average intensity; 3.7 W/cm2) and/or 44 degrees C hyperthermia in medium saturated with O2, Ar, N2 (with cavitation) or N2O (with direct effect). The synergism on cell killing by ultrasound and 44 degrees C hyperthermia was observed under N2O-saturated conditions (enhancement ratio = 1.39). On the other hand, additive enhancement was observed under O2-, Ar-, or N2-saturated conditions. In addition, when cells were treated with 44 degrees C hyperthermia before or after sonication under N2O-saturated conditions, synergistic cell killing was not observed. These results suggested that the direct effect of ultrasound alone did not influence cell killing, but enhanced the hyperthermic cell killing synergistically, when both agents simultaneously acted on the cells.

The sympathetic hazards of airborne ultrasound on ultrasound sensitive mice

A commercially available ultrasonic equipment (55-50 kHz/sec, 425 W) operated at a distance of 4 m air space caused death in some mice. The physical energy propagated was quite small, being calculated at less than 0.21 W/cm2. Among many strains of mice, the RIII strain was especially sensitive to ultrasound, and the peak of sensitivity was at 3 to 4 weeks of age at which the mortality rate was 95/149 (64%). No death occurred when mice were pretreated by (a) removing all body hair, (b) by administration of morphine hydrochloridum with a tail reaction, and (c) administration of a sympathetic blocking agent. From these results it is assumed that the ultrasound energy absorbed by the body fur reaches the hypothalamus through the sensory nerves of the hair roots. After the hypothalamus where central sympathetic nerve functions are localized, the stimulus passes down the descending tract of the sympathetic nerve, reaching the cardiac nerves via the autonomic nerve ganglion. Thus, death could occur by shock of the sympathetic nerve reflex.

Release of beta-thromboglobulin from human platelets by therapeutic intensities of ultrasound

The effects of therapeutic intensities of ultrasound on human platelets in whole blood were investigated by monitoring the release of the platelet specific protein beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG). More beta-TG was released as the intensity of the ultrasound was increased and also as the driving frequency was decreased from 3.0 to 0.75 MHz. Some beta-TG was released at spatially-averaged intensities as low as 0.6 W/cm2 at 0.75 MHz, a value significantly lower than that observed for the onset of aggregation of platelet rich plasma (obtained from the same volunteer) in the same exposure system. Liberation of beta-TG by ultrasound was diminished but not abolished in the presence of inhibitors which rendered the platelets functionally inert. Our data suggests that beta-TG is liberated in two ways, firstly as a result of platelet disruption by cavitation, and subsequently by potent aggregating agents, liberated in parallel with beta-TG, inducing the physiological release reaction in adjacent platelets. The low therapeutic intensities and short exposure times (30 s or less) necessary to liberate beta-TG from normal human platelets in vitro, suggests that patients with abnormally sensitive platelets and/or 'hypercoagulable state' could be at risk if subjected to high therapeutic intensities of ultrasound.

An introduction to the use of diagnostic ultrasound

This article is meant to serve as a simple introduction to diagnostic ultrasound, explaining the nature of sonar and the basic equipment for its production and use. A scans, B scans, time-position scans, and Doppler-shift techniques are described, with some examples of the clinical applications of each. Some recent innovations such as scan conversion to improve gray scaling and electrocardiographically triggered cardiac sector scans are mentioned. The limitations of the technique are indicated, with measures that can be adopted to reduce them. The safety of the procedure is emphasized, with its freedom from the known biological effects of ionizing radiation.

Fragmentation of purified mammalian DNA molecules by ultrasound below human therapeutic doses

Because of the increasing medical use of ultrasound, especially in obstetrical diagnosis, it has become important to check its genetic harmlessness. Purified calf thymus DNA in solution was exposed to both therapeutic and obstetrical diagnostic doses of ultrasound. Intensities lower than those used in therapy have a drastic effect on purified DNA in solution, although intensities used in obstetrical diagnosis caused no visible effect.

Absence of mutation following ultrasonic treatment of Bacillus subtilis cells and transforming deoxyribonucleic acid

Possible mutagenic effects of ultrasound at medical dosages have been assessed using genetic systems of Bacillus subtilis. The induction of mutations, after treatment of cells and of extracted transforming DNA with ultrasound has been tested. High-frequency (2 MHz diagnostic regime and higher intensities) ultrasound was unable to increase significantly the spontaneous frequency of back-mutation of an auxotrophic strain. Moreover, high-frequency treatments (1.5 MHz diagnostic and therapeutic regimes) were incapable of producing detectable levels of mutagenic lesions after in vitro irradiation of transforming DNA. Slight decreases in transforming activity of the treated DNA were apparent while the degree of linkage between two contiguous markers was unaffected. It is concluded that the ultrasound treatments employed under the conditions pertaining do not result in production of detectable mutagenic effects in cells or in vitro treated DNA. Before extrapolating such results to the human hazard situation, it is suggested that tests using genetic systems of higher organisms should be carried out.