The 146th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan (Osaka)

Organizer: Mariko Takeda (Fac. Pharm. Sci., Kobe Gakuin Univ.), Koichi Terasaka (Fac. Sci.＆Tech., Keio Univ.)

Fine bubbles are an advanced technology originating in Japan and formally defined by ISO. Their applications have rapidly expanded across fields such as cleaning, water treatment, agriculture, and chemical engineering. Ultrafine bubbles (UFBs), with diameters below 1 μm, possess negatively charged surfaces and colloid-like properties, revealing new value as functional materials in medical and life science applications. UFBs enable oral intake of bioactive gases—previously difficult—and their physicochemical characteristics have been reported to enhance drug absorption and influence physiological functions. These features suggest growing opportunities for UFBs in medical and pharmaceutical sciences. Advances include oral delivery of bioactive gases such as hydrogen, or biologics, as well as transdermal delivery systems that employ gases formulated as UFB-based DDS carriers with absorption-enhancing properties, and therapeutic applications, combined with ultrasound, for diseases with high unmet medical needs. This symposium brings together leading researchers from engineering, medicine, and pharmaceutical sciences to share current findings and deepen understanding of UFBs as functional materials contributing to next-generation medical technologies, while promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.