Efficient and facile delivery of gold nanoparticles in vivo using dissolvable microneedles for contrast-enhanced optical coherence tomography

Obtaining sufficient contrast is an indispensable requirement for detecting early stage cancer using optical coherence tomography (OCT), an emerging diagnostic tool that detects abnormal lesions with micrometer resolutions in real time. PEGylated gold nanoparticles (Au NPs; 87 nm in diameter) were formulated in aqueous dissolvable microneedles (dMNs; 200 μm height) for efficient, precisely controlled, and convenient delivery of Au NPs into hamster oral tissue in vivo. The Au NPs were then further briefly dissipated by ultrasound (US). The results showed 33% and 20% increase in average optical scattering intensity (contrast level) in dysplastic and normal tissues, respectively, and pinpointed pathological structures of early stage oral cancer were also identified by the highly convenient and efficient administration of Au NPs in a novel delivery platform

Efficient and facile delivery of gold nanoparticles in vivo using dissolvable microneedles for contrast-enhanced optical coherence tomography

Obtaining sufficient contrast is an indispensable requirement for detecting early stage cancer using optical coherence tomography (OCT), an emerging diagnostic tool that detects abnormal lesions with micrometer resolutions in real time. PEGylated gold nanoparticles (Au NPs; 87 nm in diameter) were formulated in aqueous dissolvable microneedles (dMNs; 200 μm height) for efficient, precisely controlled, and convenient delivery of Au NPs into hamster oral tissue in vivo. The Au NPs were then further briefly dissipated by ultrasound (US). The results showed 33% and 20% increase in average optical scattering intensity (contrast level) in dysplastic and normal tissues, respectively, and pinpointed pathological structures of early stage oral cancer were also identified by the highly convenient and efficient administration of Au NPs in a novel delivery platform

Analgesic Microneedle Patch for Neuropathic Pain Therapy

Neuropathic pain caused by nerve injury is debilitating and difficult to treat. Current systemic pharmacological therapeutics for neuropathic pain produce limited pain relief and have undesirable side effects, while current local anesthetics tend to nonspecifically block both sensory and motor functions. Calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP), a neuropeptide released from sensory nerve endings, appears to play a significant role in chronic neuropathic pain. In this study, an analgesic microneedle (AMN) patch was developed using dissolvable microneedles to transdermally deliver selective CGRP antagonist peptide in a painless manner for the treatment of localized neuropathic pain. Local analgesic effects were evaluated in rats by testing behavioral pain sensitivity in response to thermal and mechanical stimuli using neuropathic pain models such as spared-nerve injury and diabetic neuropathy pain, as well as neurogenic inflammatory pain model induced by ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation. Unlike several conventional therapies, the AMN patches produced effective analgesia on neuropathic pain without disturbing the normal nociception and motor function of the rat, resulting from the high specificity of the delivered peptide against CGRP receptors. The AMN patches did not cause skin irritation or systemic side effects. These results demonstrate that dissolvable microneedle patches delivering CGRP antagonist peptide provide an effective, safe, and simple approach to mitigate neuropathic pain with significant advantages over current treatments

Controlled continuous patterning of polymeric nanofibers on three-dimensional substrates using low-voltage near-field electrospinning

We report on a continuous method for controlled electrospinning of polymeric nanofibers on two-dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) substrates using low voltage near-field electrospinning (LV NFES). The method overcomes some of the drawbacks in more conventional near-field electrospinning by using a superelastic polymer ink formulation. The viscoelastic nature of our polymer ink enables continuous electrospinning at a very low voltage of 200 V, almost an order of magnitude lower than conventional NFES, thereby reducing bending instabilities and increasing control of the resulting polymer jet. In one application, polymeric nanofibers are freely suspended between microstructures of 3D carbon on Si substrates to illustrate wiring together 3D components in any desired pattern.close393