{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/134310"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/134310","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Investigation of Advanced Cavitation Agents for Nanoparticle-Mediated Histotripsy (NMH) Applications","abstract":"Nanoparticle-mediated histotripsy (NMH) is an emergent non-invasive therapy that uses nanoparticles in combination with focused ultrasound with engineered nanoparticles to mechanically ablate targeted tissue with cavitation. Unlike conventional histotripsy, which requires high negative pressures (>25 MPa) for treatment, NMH utilizes nanoparticles, which enable cavitation at significantly lower pressures (<15 MPa), and, thus, improves the safety and precision of the therapy. Due to the increased safety profile of NMH, potential applications across a broader range of tissue types and anatomical sites are possible. As a versatile and tunable platform, NMH offers the ability to integrate dual-function nanoparticles that enable mechanical ablation with localized drug delivery, all within a single treatment modality. To date, NMH has demonstrated proof-of-concept success in applications such as prostate cancer ablation and catheter-based biofilm removal. However, its full potential as a multifunctional therapeutic platform for more complex disease environments remains underexplored. In this dissertation, I investigate the feasibility and optimization of NMH for two clinically relevant and challenging scenarios: the treatment of breast cancer and the eradication of biomaterial-associated infections. Specifically, this work focuses on: (1) the characterization of NMH cavitation agents with clinically relevant pulsing parameters, (2) the feasibility of NMH as a breast cancer treatment, and (3) the characterization and feasibility of dual-function NMH cavitation agents for the treatment of breast cancer and biomaterial-associated infections. Through this research, I demonstrate how NMH can be strategically tuned to meet the demands of different clinical presentations by strategically using nanoparticles. This work will establish NMH as a flexible, precise, and multi-functional treatment platform. Ultimately, this dissertation contributes to the development of a next-generation therapeutic approach that bridges the gap between mechanical ablation and drug delivery, all enabled through nanoparticle-mediated cavitation.","abstract_html":"Nanoparticle-mediated histotripsy (NMH) is an emergent non-invasive therapy that uses nanoparticles in combination with focused ultrasound with engineered nanoparticles to mechanically ablate targeted tissue with cavitation. Unlike conventional histotripsy, which requires high negative pressures (&gt;25 MPa) for treatment, NMH utilizes nanoparticles, which enable cavitation at significantly lower pressures (&lt;15 MPa), and, thus, improves the safety and precision of the therapy. Due to the increased safety profile of NMH, potential applications across a broader range of tissue types and anatomical sites are possible. As a versatile and tunable platform, NMH offers the ability to integrate dual-function nanoparticles that enable mechanical ablation with localized drug delivery, all within a single treatment modality. To date, NMH has demonstrated proof-of-concept success in applications such as prostate cancer ablation and catheter-based biofilm removal. However, its full potential as a multifunctional therapeutic platform for more complex disease environments remains underexplored. In this dissertation, I investigate the feasibility and optimization of NMH for two clinically relevant and challenging scenarios: the treatment of breast cancer and the eradication of biomaterial-associated infections. Specifically, this work focuses on: (1) the characterization of NMH cavitation agents with clinically relevant pulsing parameters, (2) the feasibility of NMH as a breast cancer treatment, and (3) the characterization and feasibility of dual-function NMH cavitation agents for the treatment of breast cancer and biomaterial-associated infections. Through this research, I demonstrate how NMH can be strategically tuned to meet the demands of different clinical presentations by strategically using nanoparticles. This work will establish NMH as a flexible, precise, and multi-functional treatment platform. Ultimately, this dissertation contributes to the development of a next-generation therapeutic approach that bridges the gap between mechanical ablation and drug delivery, all enabled through nanoparticle-mediated cavitation.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hall, Sarah Louella"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Biomedical Engineering","degree_department":"Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Vlaisavljevich, Eli"],"committee_members":["Allen, Irving C.","Sheybani, Natasha","Durmaz, Yasemin","Munson, Jennifer M."],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-29","date_published":"2025-05-29","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:24Z","subjects":["nanoparticle","focused ultrasound","histotripsy","breast cancer","biofilms"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:43562"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:43562","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/134310","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Vlaisavljevich, Eli"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Allen, Irving C.","Sheybani, Natasha","Durmaz, Yasemin","Munson, Jennifer M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hall, Sarah Louella"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-05-30T08:05:33Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-05-30T08:05:33Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-05-29"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biomedical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["nanoparticle","focused ultrasound","histotripsy","breast cancer","biofilms"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:43562"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/134310"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Nanoparticle-mediated histotripsy (NMH) is an emergent non-invasive therapy that uses nanoparticles in combination with focused ultrasound with engineered nanoparticles to mechanically ablate targeted tissue with cavitation. Unlike conventional histotripsy, which requires high negative pressures (>25 MPa) for treatment, NMH utilizes nanoparticles, which enable cavitation at significantly lower pressures (<15 MPa), and, thus, improves the safety and precision of the therapy. Due to the increased safety profile of NMH, potential applications across a broader range of tissue types and anatomical sites are possible. As a versatile and tunable platform, NMH offers the ability to integrate dual-function nanoparticles that enable mechanical ablation with localized drug delivery, all within a single treatment modality. To date, NMH has demonstrated proof-of-concept success in applications such as prostate cancer ablation and catheter-based biofilm removal. However, its full potential as a multifunctional therapeutic platform for more complex disease environments remains underexplored. In this dissertation, I investigate the feasibility and optimization of NMH for two clinically relevant and challenging scenarios: the treatment of breast cancer and the eradication of biomaterial-associated infections. Specifically, this work focuses on: (1) the characterization of NMH cavitation agents with clinically relevant pulsing parameters, (2) the feasibility of NMH as a breast cancer treatment, and (3) the characterization and feasibility of dual-function NMH cavitation agents for the treatment of breast cancer and biomaterial-associated infections. Through this research, I demonstrate how NMH can be strategically tuned to meet the demands of different clinical presentations by strategically using nanoparticles. This work will establish NMH as a flexible, precise, and multi-functional treatment platform. Ultimately, this dissertation contributes to the development of a next-generation therapeutic approach that bridges the gap between mechanical ablation and drug delivery, all enabled through nanoparticle-mediated cavitation."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Investigation of Advanced Cavitation Agents for Nanoparticle-Mediated Histotripsy (NMH) Applications"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Vlaisavljevich, Eli"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Allen, Irving C.","Sheybani, Natasha","Durmaz, Yasemin","Munson, Jennifer M."],"dc:contributor.department":["Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics"],"dc:creator":["Hall, Sarah Louella"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-05-30T08:05:33Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-05-30T08:05:33Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-05-29"],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["Nanoparticle-mediated histotripsy (NMH) is an emergent non-invasive therapy that uses nanoparticles in combination with focused ultrasound with engineered nanoparticles to mechanically ablate targeted tissue with cavitation. Unlike conventional histotripsy, which requires high negative pressures (>25 MPa) for treatment, NMH utilizes nanoparticles, which enable cavitation at significantly lower pressures (<15 MPa), and, thus, improves the safety and precision of the therapy. Due to the increased safety profile of NMH, potential applications across a broader range of tissue types and anatomical sites are possible. As a versatile and tunable platform, NMH offers the ability to integrate dual-function nanoparticles that enable mechanical ablation with localized drug delivery, all within a single treatment modality. To date, NMH has demonstrated proof-of-concept success in applications such as prostate cancer ablation and catheter-based biofilm removal. However, its full potential as a multifunctional therapeutic platform for more complex disease environments remains underexplored. In this dissertation, I investigate the feasibility and optimization of NMH for two clinically relevant and challenging scenarios: the treatment of breast cancer and the eradication of biomaterial-associated infections. Specifically, this work focuses on: (1) the characterization of NMH cavitation agents with clinically relevant pulsing parameters, (2) the feasibility of NMH as a breast cancer treatment, and (3) the characterization and feasibility of dual-function NMH cavitation agents for the treatment of breast cancer and biomaterial-associated infections. Through this research, I demonstrate how NMH can be strategically tuned to meet the demands of different clinical presentations by strategically using nanoparticles. This work will establish NMH as a flexible, precise, and multi-functional treatment platform. Ultimately, this dissertation contributes to the development of a next-generation therapeutic approach that bridges the gap between mechanical ablation and drug delivery, all enabled through nanoparticle-mediated cavitation."],"dc:description.degree":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:43562"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/134310"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["nanoparticle","focused ultrasound","histotripsy","breast cancer","biofilms"],"dc:title":["Investigation of Advanced Cavitation Agents for Nanoparticle-Mediated Histotripsy (NMH) Applications"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biomedical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:24Z"}