Wearable transdermal drug delivery system controlled by wirelessly powered acoustic waves

Zhang, Jikai, Yang, Feixuan, Wu, Haimeng, Ong, Hui Ling, Arnold, Peter, Zhang, Meng, Jiang, Yunhong, Bahar, Duygu, Yuan, Zhishan, Yang, Xin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8429-7598 and Fu, Yong-Qing 2025. Wearable transdermal drug delivery system controlled by wirelessly powered acoustic waves. Journal of Controlled Release 381 , 113619. 10.1016/j.jconrel.2025.113619

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Abstract

Transdermal drug administration offers an alternative route for drug delivery through the skin, and surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology has recently emerged as a promising approach to enhance this process. However, conventional cable-connected SAW control units face several challenges, including inconvenience, poor wearability, limited miniaturization and integration, and restricted reusability. This study introduces a wireless-powered transport strategy for the transdermal delivery of large drug molecules using a thin-film-based SAW platform. This approach leverages interfacial acoustic stimulation, localized acoustic heating, and streaming/micro-cavitation to enhance drug penetration. By eliminating the need for physical connections, the wireless power transfer system reduces potential heating effects and localized tissue damage. To evaluate its performance, synthetic skin-like agarose gel and pig skin tissue were used as models. Hyaluronate rhodamine (5000 Da) was successfully delivered transdermally into pig skin tissue, achieving approximately 77.89 % of the efficiency observed with a conventional cable-connected SAW platform. These findings highlight wireless SAW technology as a promising alternative for enhancing transdermal drug delivery, offering a safer, more effective, and user-friendly therapeutic solution for patients.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Engineering
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0168-3659
Funders:	Northern Accelerator CCF Feasibility and Proof of Concept program
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	21 March 2025
Date of Acceptance:	7 March 2025
Last Modified:	21 Mar 2025 14:46
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/177050

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