Microbubbles as used for contrast-enhanced ultrasound affect the migration of human primary leukocytes

Poly n-butylcyanoacrylate (PBCA) microbubbles are used for a wide variety of biomedical applications, such as targeted delivery of drugs or as contrast agents for ultrasound imaging of the liver. Microbubbles are generally considered as non-toxic and immunologically inert. Up to now, possible effects of PBCA microbubbles on immune cells are unclear. Here, we studied the effects of the microspheres on human primary leukocytes with a focus on cell migration and differentiation. Microbubbles, which had been labeled with rhodamine for fluorescent detection, did not cause cytotoxic effects upon incubation with primar…