Particle Acceleration via Laser Ablation

Recently, the biolistic process is emerging as an effective needle-free drug delivery technique to transfer adequate concentrations of pharmacologic agents to soft living tissues with minimum side effects. We have started developing an effective method for delivering drug coated particles using laser ablation. A thin metal foil with deposited micro-particles on one side is irradiated with laser beam on the opposite side so that a shock wave is generated. This shock wave travels through the foil and is reflected, which causes and instantaneous deformation of the foil. Due to such a sudden deformation, the micro-particles are ejected at a very high speed. Here we present the experimental results of direct and confined laser ablation, which correspond to the initial stage of the whole experiment.