Lane, Majella;
Chen, Xin;
Carugo, Dario;
Sil, Bruno;
(2024)
Ultrasound-compatible 3D-printed Franz Diffusion System for Sonophoresis with Microbubbles.
International Journal of Pharmaceutics
, 666
, Article 124749. 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.124749.
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Abstract
Sonophoresis is a topical drug delivery approach that utilises ultrasound as a physical stimulus to enhance permeation of active pharmaceutical ingredients through the skin. Only limited research has however been conducted to evaluate the potential of ultrasound-responsive drug carriers, such as gas microbubbles, in sonophoresis. Franz diffusion cells have been extensively used for measuring drug permeation in vitro; however, traditional systems lack compatibility with ultrasound and only limited characterisation of their acoustical behaviour has been carried out in previous research. To overcome this limitation, we designed and manufactured a novel Franz cell donor compartment coupled with a conventional glass receptor, and performed a functional characterisation of the assembly for application in sonophoresis with ultrasound-responsive agents (specifically imiquimod-loaded gas microbubbles). The donor was fabricated using a photoreactive resin via 3D printing and was designed to enable integration with a therapeutically relevant ultrasound source. The assembly was capable of effectively retaining liquids during prolonged incubation and the absorption of imiquimod onto the 3D-printed material was comparable to the one of glass. Moreover, a predictable ultrasound field could be generated at a target surface without any significant spatial distortion. Finally, we demonstrated applicability of the developed assembly in sonophoresis experiments with StratM®, wherein ultrasound stimulation in the presence of microbubbles resulted in significantly enhanced drug permeation through and partitioning within the membrane (2.96 ± 0.25 μg and 3.84 ± 0.39 μg) compared to passive diffusion alone (1.74 ± 0.29 μg and 2.29 ± 0.32 μg), over 24 h.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Ultrasound-compatible 3D-printed Franz Diffusion System for Sonophoresis with Microbubbles |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.124749 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.124749 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Ultrasound, Microbubbles, Sonophoresis, In-vitro diffusion system, 3D printing |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy > Pharmaceutics |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10197602 |
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