Theoretical study of microbubble dynamics in sonoporation

•Establish a model of microbubble dynamics nearby the cell membrane especially for sonoporation.•Some typical microbubble dynamics are numerically achieved similar with experimental results.•There are thresholds for these types, which are possibly related to the mechanical index.•The model established the relationships among the parameters in sonoporation.

Sonoporation is a promising technology for promoting the transfer of drug or gene into cells using ultrasound-mediated microbubbles that transiently break up the cell membrane. In this article, a model is established to analyze the dynamics of ultrasound-mediated microbubble near the cell membrane, which may be especially useful for understanding the mechanisms of sonoporation. In the model, the velocity potential of fluid on the microbubble surface and on the cell membrane is obtained by the unsteady Bernoulli equations, and it is solved by using the boundary integral equations. By numerically analyzing the model, the typical microbubble dynamics near the cell membrane are enumerated, which may be mainly governed by mechanical index. The model also established the connections among the parameters of ultrasound exposure, microbubble characteristics, and cell membrane properties in sonoporation.