This promise, however, is not fully realised because, for many molecules, the skin constitutes a significant barrier. A variety of approaches have been proposed to reversibly breach this barrier, the most significant are the ‘passive’ approach involving the use of chemical penetration enhancers, and the more recent active approaches such as iontophoresis (use of a electrical potential to enhanc...

Hyperosmotic agents have shown great potential in tissue optical clearing. However, the low efficiency of the permeation in biological tissues seriously restricts its application in reality. The synergy of sonophoresis as a penetration enhancer and hyperosmotic agents, 20% glucose (G) and 20% mannitol (M), in optical clearing has been investigated by analyzing the variation of the attenuation c...

It has now been known for over a decade that low frequency ultrasound can be used to effectively enhance transdermal drug penetration - an approach termed sonophoresis. Mechanistically, acoustic cavitation results in the creation of defects in the stratum corneum that allow accelerated absorption of topically applied molecules. The aim of this study was to develop an optimised sonophoresis prot...

the application of low-frequency ultrasound for transdermal delivery of insulin is of particular public interest due to the increasing problem of diabetes. the purpose of this research was to develop an air ultrasonic ceramic transducer for transdermal insulin delivery and evaluate the possibility of applying a new portable and low-cost device for transdermal insulin delivery. twenty-four rats ...

The research described in this thesis represents a significant advancement in the current mechanistic understanding of low-frequency ultrasound-mediated transdermal drug delivery. Specifically, while prior research has focused on a more general understanding of the mechanisms associated with low-frequency sonophoresis (LFS), this thesis directly investigates the mechanisms associated with pheno...