Localized cell lysis by Self Focused Acoustic Transducers

This paper presents localized cell lysis using a self focused acoustic transducer (SFAT). The 18 MHz acoustic waves generated by the SFAT focus at a spot of around 100 mum in diameter with a peak intensity of 25 W/cm², which is strong enough to produce acoustic cavitation at such high frequency. With the great pressure and temperature produced by the cavitation, cells are broken and detached in a tiny area from the substrate while leaving other ones intact. That is ideal for localized cell lysis and killing tumors. Moreover, the gene analysis is conducted to confirm that the lysis effect is due to the high intensity of focused acoustic waves.