CHICAGO, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A study posted on the website of the University of Illinois (UI) website on Monday shows that high-intensity focused ultrasound waves can penetrate biological tissue to activate molecules that are able to perform specific tasks.
The researchers studied synthetic molecules called mechanophores that respond to force by changing color or generating light, something they believed could harness the mechanical force of an ultrasound wave and trigger a chemical reaction that emits light.
Light cannot travel through opaque material, but ultrasound waves which have a well-documented safety record can.
"The ability to use ultrasound to penetrate opaque materials and then trigger mechanophores to produce light deep within these materials will open up many possibilities for applications such as gene activation," said King Li, a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at UI and a study co-author.
Although the researchers have successfully demonstrated remote generation of light in biologic tissue without causing damage, the intensity of that light is still not enough for optogenetic applications.
The researchers will continue to refine the technique and seek other biomedical applications.
"This combination of high-intensity focused ultrasound and mechanophores can be utilized for many applications, and light production is only the beginning," Li said. "We are already actively exploring other applications."
The findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
