| Shefali_Ko_Poi |
Posted
on 22-Apr-04 04:27 PM
No More Needles With New Drug Delivery Method
Experimental Technique Gets Drugs Under Skin Without a Needle
A new era of needle-free injections may be soon approaching. A new study shows that an experimental method can get medications under the skin with air rather than injections.
The drug delivery technique, known as microscission, uses a stream of gas to bombard a small area of skin with tiny, sharp particles of inactive aluminum oxide. These particles remove the top layers of skin and create tiny holes called microconduits, which lead into the lower layers of skin and serve as receptacles for drugs, such as anesthesia.
Researchers say the whole process takes less than 20 seconds and is much less painful than a needle prick.
New Method May Replace Needles
In the study, which appears in the April 19 issue of BMC Medicine, researchers tested the technique to see if it could effectively deliver a local anesthetic to human volunteers.
During the procedure, the stream of gas and particles create the microconduits in the skin, and loosened skin is taken away with the flow of air and gas. The tiny holes created by the procedure cannot be seen by the naked eye, and the size of the microconduits is determined by the size of the holes punched in a film mask that's placed over the skin.
In the study, researchers used microscission to create four microconduits within a small area of skin. Then the researchers applied a pad soaked with the anesthetic lidocaine to the area.
The study showed that within two minutes the patch of skin was anaesthetized, and the volunteers said they felt only a gentle stream of air against the skin.
Although furthers studies are needed, researchers say microscission may provide a new and painless alternative to frequent finger pricking among diabetic patients and may offer a new way to deliver drugs through the skin without the pain of using needles.
|
