Student: Steven Stamm
Project Mentors: Dr. Jitendran Muthswamy – SBHSE
Dr. Arati Sridharan – SBHSE
Dr. James Abbas – SBHSE
YouTube Link: View the video link below before joining the zoom meeting
Zoom Meeting: https://asu.zoom.us/j/99526225680
Zoom meeting time: 9am - 11am
Abstract
As the field of neurophysiological studies continues to evolve and improve with time, a major milestone that has yet to be achieved is the development of an optimized implantable system for drug delivery in single neurons. A growing area of interest has been the use of performing drug delivery using iontophoresis. Among the many challenges that arise with the optimization of iontophoretic drug delivery are providing sufficient currents to achieve delivery without compromising the health of the cells and doing so in a way that ensures long term repeatability through efficient power usage. The goal of this project is to assess volume of drug delivered under different current pulse parameters. In bench top experiments involving conductive agar, we used a working electrode inside a 5 mm long micropipette filled with gadolinium chloride payload with a tip diameter of 30 µm to deliver the iontophoretic current against an external stainless steel ground electrode. A range of current amplitudes, and pulse frequencies were used to deliver the dye tagged payload under a fluorescent microscope. The ejection volumes and rates were then analyzed and compared to assess the impact of the parameters of the delivery current on ejection volumes of drug payloads in the brain. Drug volumes were assessed quantitatively using 2D images of the fluorescent dye at the tip. Assuming radial symmetry, the volume of drugs ejected were estimated from these images. These findings were used to develop a better understanding of the effect of pulsatile currents on both power consumption and overall delivery efficiency in the effort to establish a more efficient and safe implantable drug delivery system for use in brain in future studies.