Inertial cavitation mediated by ultrasound has been previously shown to enable skin permeabilisation for transdermal drug and vaccine delivery, by sequentially applying the ultrasound then the therapeutic in liquid form on the skin surface. Using a novel hydrogel dosage form, we demonstrate that the use of sub-micron gas-stabilising polymeric nanoparticles (nanocups) to sustain and promote cavitation activity during simultaneous application of both drug and vaccine results in a significant enhancement of both the dose and penetration of a model vaccine, Ovalbumin (OVA), to depths of 500μm into porcine skin. The nanocups themselves exceeded the penetration depth of the vaccine (up to 700μm) due to their small size and capacity to 'self-propel'. In vivo murine studies indicated that nanocup-assisted ultrasound transdermal vaccination achieved significantly (p<0.05) higher delivery doses without visible skin damage compared to the use of a chemical penetration enhancer. Transdermal OVA doses of up to 1μg were achieved in a single 90-second treatment, which was sufficient to trigger an antigen-specific immune response. Furthermore, ultrasound-assisted vaccine delivery in the presence of nanocups demonstrated substantially higher specific anti-OVA IgG antibody levels compared to other transdermal methods. Further optimisation can lead to a viable, safe and non-invasive delivery platform for vaccines with potential use in a primary care setting or personalized self-vaccination at home.

No abstract

The reverse micelle-based microemulsion was proposed as a vector for the transdermal delivery of propranolol. Soya-lecithin forms reverse micelle in iso-octane with increased solubilizing potential. The lecithin/iso-octane system was studied for the nature of solubilized water, the effect of added water on viscosity, and drug-micelle interaction. The amount and nature of solubilized water was investigated by spectroscopic methods using potassium nitrate as the polarity probe. With increasing water content the viscosity of the system was found to increase. And at a molar ratio (R) = 3, the system showed gel-like consistency (8.1 x 10(3) poise). The polarity probe study suggested the difference in environment of solubilized water as compared with the bulk water. The permeability rate of propranolol contained in the water/lecithin/iso-octane system was calculated to be 1212.0 micrograms h cm-2 while in the case of petrolatum jelly it was recorded to be 122.8 micrograms h-1 cm-2.

Ultrasound-assisted transdermal insulin delivery offers a less painful and less invasive alternative to subcutaneous insulin injections. However, ultrasound-based drug delivery, otherwise known as sonophoresis, is a highly variable phenomenon, in part dependent on cavitation. The aim of the current work is to investigate the role of cavitation in transdermal insulin delivery. Fluorescently stained, soluble Actrapid insulin was placed on the surface of human skin-mimicking materials subjected to 265 kHz, 10% duty cycle focused ultrasound. A confocally and coaxially aligned 5 MHz broadband ultrasound transducer was used to detect cavitation. Two different skin models were used. The first model, 3% agar hydrogel, was insonated with a range of pressures (0.25-1.40 MPa peak rarefactional focal pressure-PRFP), with and without cavitation nuclei embedded within the agar at a concentration of 0.05% w/v. The second, porcine skin was insonated at 1.00 and 1.40 MPa PRFP. In both models, fluorescence measurements were used to determine penetration depth and concentration of delivered insulin. Results show that in agar gel, both insulin penetration depth and concentration only increased significantly in the presence of inertial cavitation, with up to a 40% enhancement. In porcine skin the amount of fluorescent insulin was higher in the epidermis of those samples that were exposed to ultrasound compared to the control samples, but there was no significant increase in penetration distance. The results underline the importance of instigating and monitoring inertial cavitation during transdermal insulin delivery.