Sulphur hexafluoride-stabilized microbubble (ultrasound contrast agent) (None in standard scientific usage; sometimes abbreviated in product names (e.g., SF6 microbubbles), but no universal canonical abbreviation.)

Sulphur hexafluoride-stabilized microbubbles are tiny gas-filled spheres encapsulated by a stabilizing shell (lipid, protein, or polymer) injected intravenously as agents for contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging. They dramatically increase ultrasound reflectivity—thus enhancing visualization of blood flow and tissue vascularity in imaging modalities. When exposed to ultrasound waves, these microbubbles oscillate, resonate, and can collapse (cavitation), generating local bioeffects, which have been exploited for experimental drug and gene delivery, and for transient opening of structures like the blood-brain barrier. They are not biological targets but rather engineered agents for diagnosis and therapy

Other names

ultrasound microbubble contrast agentsulphur hexafluoride microbubbleSF6 microbubblestabilized microbubble contrast agent

Enhance ultrasound imaging by nonlinear resonance and increased echogenicity; mediate delivery via sonoporation (increased membrane permeability from ultrasound-induced microbubble destruction)