2023-04-24 12:45:39
Most drugs are administered orally or intravenously, but the skin is one route that could offer much more selective delivery for certain applications.
The skin is an attractive route for drug delivery because it allows drugs to go directly to where they are needed, which could be useful for wound healing, pain relief, or other medical and cosmetic applications.
However, drug delivery through the skin is difficult because the tough outer layer of the skin prevents most small molecules from getting through. Piercing the skin with a hypodermic needle, on the other hand, is not painless and may cause anxiety for some people.
Hoping to facilitate the delivery of drugs through the skin, the team of Chia-Chen Yu and Aastha Shah, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, has developed a wearable device, specifically in the form of a patch, which applies painless ultrasonic waves to the skin, creating tiny channels through which drug molecules can pass.
This method could be ideal for the administration of treatments against various skin conditions, and could also be adapted to administer hormones, muscle relaxants and other drugs.
The device consists of a patch that incorporates several disc-shaped piezoelectric transducers, which can convert electrical currents into mechanical energy. Each disc is located in a polymeric cavity that contains the drug molecules dissolved in a liquid solution. When an electrical current is applied to the piezoelectric elements, they generate pressure waves in the fluid, creating bubbles that burst against the skin. The bursting of these bubbles produces micro-jets of fluid that can penetrate through the outer layer of the skin.
MIT researchers have developed a wearable patch that applies painless ultrasonic waves to the skin, creating tiny channels through which drugs can pass. (Image courtesy of the research team. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
The patch is made of PDMS, a silicone-based polymer that can adhere to the skin without the need for tape.
This new technology opens the door to the use of vibrations to improve drug delivery.
Yu and Shah’s team discuss the technical details of the new device in the academic journal Advanced Materials, under the title “A conformable ultrasound patch for cavitation-enhanced transdermal cosmeceutical delivery.” (Fountain: NCYT de Amazings)
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