Lumason

The effect of the ultrasound contrast agent Lumason^® (Bracco Diagnostics, Inc., Milan, Italy) on the ADV transition efficiency and oxygen scavenging was studied by comparing measurements with and without Lumason^® co-administered with droplets. Lumason^® was activated according to the manufacturer’s package insert and used within 48 h of activation. A 19 G needle (Hamilton, Reno, NV, USA) connected to a 25 µL gas-tight syringe (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) was used to withdraw 24 µL of Lumason^®. Lumason^® was transferred to a 60 mL syringe (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) containing 60 mL of 95% DI water and perfluorocarbon droplets (4.8 × 10⁻⁴ ± 0.6 × 10⁻⁴ mL/mL final concentration). The Lumason^® dose was based on the package insert dose per weight (0.03 mL/kg). Co-diluted Lumason^® and droplets were infused through the coolant delivery port of an EkoSonic^® catheter with a Harvard Apparatus Elite syringe pump (Harvard Apparatus, Holliston, MA, USA) and exposed to ultrasound, as described in Section 2.3.