Project Info:
On the past summer I worked as a researcher through MIT's UROP program in the Langer Lab. Current projects in the lab have consisted of studying the ways ultrasound enhances transdermal drug delivery and increases the permeability of the skin. Low-frequency ultrasound has generated great interest over the past few decades primarily because of its potential non-invasive applications in clinical trials. However, the mechanisms of low-frquency ultrasound are not well understood. I have been involved in two projects that have studied these mechanisms. The first of which was to study the primary mechanism involved in perturbed localized transport pathways created by ultrasound. This first project resulted in a paper publication which is now available in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
The project I am currently working on is studying the methods that make the effect of low frequency ultrasound on the skin more homogeneous to hopefully make the localized transport regions larger. The approach we have taken is by using nucleation sites to enhance transient cavitation, a leading factor in the formation of these transport regions and thus the enhancement of their permeability. The success of these experiments may allow larger model hydrophyllic drugs to penetrate the skin.