• Journal of Platform Technology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.3-10
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• 2022

The effectiveness of an innovative skin treatment system that delivers an anti-aging solution deep into the skin without invasiveness and pain using a non-invasive air technology was investigated. In addition, an effective change using a non-invasive technique for delivering a solution for skin improvement was confirmed. The equipment named Cellre Jet is an effective skin care and drug delivery equipment that instantly opens the skin epidermis by using a maximum output pressure of 6 bars and high-pressure purified oxygen of 75-90% purity to deliver various nano-sized vital substances deep into the skin, and it uses the method of precisely controlling the equipment through an 8-inch digital touch display to accurately dispense the prescribed dosage. In this study, changes in skin condition were analyzed using this equipment and nano ampoules on subjects with actual skin problems through a related comparison and effectiveness judgment program. Through this study, skin care and drug delivery are possible, which will contribute to verifying the effectiveness of this non-invasive drug delivery equipment in the future, and is expected to establish the systematic effect in observing and studying changes in the skin.

• Medical Lasers
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.181-184
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• 2021

Scars can cause great psychological stress among patients. Currently, there are numerous topical agents, laser and surgical treatments available for skin rejuvenation and scar minimization. Laser-assisted drug delivery (LADD) is a treatment method that increases drug delivery by stimulating the skin physically and chemically to enhance the penetration of topical agents. This is one of the areas of great interest in the treatment of various skin diseases in addition to its use for cosmetic purposes. In particular, LADD is relatively non-invasive and has advantages in terms of accessibility and stability. Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) is a collagen stimulator known to gradually restore skin volume by inducing inflammation and fibroplasia. Herein, we report a case of treatment of an atrophic scar with fractional carbon dioxide laser-assisted PLLA delivery.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.87-96
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• 2022

Drug self-delivery systems can easily realize combination drug therapy and avoid carrier-induced toxicity and immunogenicity because they do not need non-therapeutic carrier materials. So, designing appropriate drug self-delivery systems for specific diseases can settle most of the problems existing in traditional drug delivery systems. Retinal pigment epithelium is very important for the homeostasis of retina. However, it is vulnerable to oxidative damage and difficult to repair. Worse still, the antioxidants can hardly reach the retina by non-invasive administration routes due to the ocular barriers. Herein, the targeted group (folic acid) and antioxidant (melatonin) have been grafted on the surface of ZnO quantum dots to fabricate a new kind of drug self-delivery systems as a protectant via eyedrops. In this study, the negative nanoparticles with size ranging in 4~6 nm were successfully synthesized. They could easily and precisely deliver drugs to retinal pigment epithelium via eyedrops. And they realized acid degradation to controlled release of melatonin and zinc in retinal pigment epithelium cells. Consequently, the structure of retinal pigment epithelium cells were stabilized according to the expression of ZO-1 and β-catenin. Moreover, the antioxidant capacity of retinal pigment epithelium were enhanced both in health mice and photic injury mice. Therefore, such new drug self-delivery systems have great potential both in prevention and treatment of oxidative damage induced retinal diseases.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.97-103
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• 2024

Some drugs can offer far better medical effectiveness as it is injected through the intradermal layer of the skin, known as a needle-free injection. However, conventional needle-free devices might deliver a relatively large amount of drug in a just single spot of skin, splitting open the tissue layer structure, which might cause bruising and bleeding. By injecting the small volume with a fast repetition rate in a large surface area of skin, the patient may get much fewer injuries and pain. To achieve that specification, the driving force must be instantaneous and short-pulsed. Such a form of an injection device has been developed but the efficacy of those devices has been rarely examined. Therefore, this study developed the laser-induced microjet device that ejects microjet whose speed is ~310 m/s, during the 400~800 ㎲ of pulse time. The device can eject ~1 µL of the drug at the rate at which each shot repeated 10 shots per second. Using this specification, we evaluated the efficacy of drug injection onto mouse models. After injecting the insulin solution into the mouse model, the blood insulin level is detected, resulting in 20 % of blood insulin level with the ordinary needle syringe injection method.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2023

For over 50 years, boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has been steadily developed for treating various cancers. This is a non-invasive, selective, and targeted radiotherapy wherein boron-rich molecules accumulate at the tumor site. Liposomal vesicles have become a popular and effective drug delivery system for BNCT, with strategies including surface decoration, bilayer integration, and hydrophilic core encapsulation. This review highlights the state-of-the-art uses of liposomes in BNCT and elucidates a new perspective where BNCT can be used with radiotracer guidance in all-in-one delivery systems.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.42-47
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• 2018

A needle-free injector is one of the new non-invasive players in impregnating the biological barriers. It is considered as the next phase in drug delivery and therapeutic applications. One of the major fields of application is in skin remodeling procedures. Although many studies were carried out in understanding the principle in the needle-free injection procedure, fewer studies were done with the aim of therapeutic applications. In the present study, we tried to identify key parameters that affect the jet divergence and peak stagnation pressure on the skin surface in a conventional needle-free injector for skin treatment. A summary of the working principle and effect of the key parameters are presented.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2001

Lung perfusion scanning, invariably combined with ventilation studies provides a reliable and non-invasive mean to diagnose lung related pathologies despite the availability of modern techniques such as angiography, magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance angiography, and helical (spiral) computed tomography. The technique involves the generation of images by radiations emitted from radioisotopes introduced in to the lungs. Various radiopharmaceuticals have been proposed and designed to incorporate $Tc^{99m}$ in to macroparticulate form for lung perfusion imaging. However, most of these have associated difficulties such as reproducibility of the product with regards to particle size distribution and poor elimination from the lung capillary bed. $Tc^{99m}$ macroaggregated albumin $(Tc^{99m}-MAA)$ is used extensively for clinical lung perfusion imaging and is considered as the radiopharmaceutical of choice. It is non-toxic, safe, and being biodegradable, is easily eliminated from the lung capillary bed by proteolytic enzyme metabolism and by mechanical forces due to lung movement.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.10-26
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• 2019

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is an emerging new technology with considerable potential to treat various neurological diseases. With refinement of ultrasound transducer technology and integration with magnetic resonance imaging guidance, transcranial sonication of precise cerebral targets has become a therapeutic option. Intensity is a key determinant of ultrasound effects. High-intensity focused ultrasound can produce targeted lesions via thermal ablation of tissue. MRgFUS-mediated stereotactic ablation is non-invasive, incision-free, and confers immediate therapeutic effects. Since the US Food and Drug Administration approval of MRgFUS in 2016 for unilateral thalamotomy in medication-refractory essential tremor, studies on novel indications such as Parkinson's disease, psychiatric disease, and brain tumors are underway. MRgFUS is also used in the context of blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening at low intensities, in combination with intravenously-administered microbubbles. Preclinical studies show that MRgFUS-mediated BBB opening safely enhances the delivery of targeted chemotherapeutic agents to the brain and improves tumor control as well as survival. In addition, BBB opening has been shown to activate the innate immune system in animal models of Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid plaque clearance and promotion of neurogenesis in these studies suggest that MRgFUS-mediated BBB opening may be a new paradigm for neurodegenerative disease treatment in the future. Here, we review the current status of preclinical and clinical trials of MRgFUS-mediated thermal ablation and BBB opening, described their mechanisms of action, and discuss future prospects.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.2-12
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• 2022

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanovesicles that carry bioactive cargoes of proteins, lipids, mRNAs, and miRNAs between living cells. Their role in cellular communication has gained the attention of several research reports globally in the last decade. EVs are critically involved in sperm functions, oocyte functions, fertilization, embryonic development, and pregnancy. The review summarizes the state-of-the-art of EVs research in the diagnostic and therapeutic (theranostic) potentials of the EVs during the pregnancy that might provide a solution for gestational disturbances such as implantation failure, maternal health problems, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia. EVs can be found in all biological fluids of the fetus and the mother and would provide a non-invasive and excellent tool for diagnostic purposes. Moreover, we provide the current efforts in manufacturing and designing targeted therapeutics using synthetic and semi-synthetic nanovesicles mimicking the natural EVs for efficient drug delivery during pregnancy.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2023

Liposomes as drug delivery system have proved useful carrier for various disease, including cancer. In addition, perfluorocarbon cored microbubbles are utilized in conjunction with high-intensity focused-ultrasound (HIFU) to enable simultaneous diagnosis and treatment. However, microbubbles generally exhibit lower drug loading efficiency, so the need for the development of a novel liposome-based drug delivery material that can efficiently load and deliver drugs to targeted areas via HIFU. This study aims to develop a liposome-based drug delivery material by introducing a substance that can burst liposomes using ultrasound energy and confirm the ability to target tumors using PET imaging. Liposomes (Lipo-DOX, Lipo-DOX-Au, Lipo-DOX-Au-RGD) were synthesized with gold nanoparticles using an avidin-biotin bond, and doxorubicin was mounted inside by pH gradient method. The size distribution was measured by DLS, and encapsulation efficiency of doxorubicin was analyzed by UV-vis spectrometer. The target specificity and cytotoxicity of liposomes were assessed in vitro by glioblastoma U87mg cells to HIFU treatment and analyzed using CCK-8 assay, and fluorescence microscopy at 6-hour intervals for up to 24 hours. For the in vivo study, U87mg model mouse were injected intravenously with 1.48 MBq of ⁶⁴Cu-labeled Lipo-DOX-Au and Lipo-DOX-Au-RGD, and PET images were taken at 0, 2, 4, 8, and 24 hours. As a result, the size of liposomes was 108.3 ± 5.0 nm at Lipo-DOX-Au and 94.1 ± 12.2 nm at Lipo-DOX-Au-RGD, and it was observed that doxorubicin was mounted inside the liposome up to 52%. After 6 hours of HIFU treatment, the viability of U87mg cells treated with Lipo-DOX-Au decreased by around 20% compared to Lipo-DOX, and Lipo-DOX-Au-RGD had a higher uptake rate than Lipo-DOX. In vivo study using PET images, it was confirmed that ⁶⁴Cu-Lipo-DOX-Au-RGD was taken up into the tumor immediately after injection and maintained for up to 4 hours. In this study, drugs released from liposomes-gold nanoparticles via ultrasound and RGD targeting were confirmed by non-invasive imaging. In cell-level experiments, HIFU treatment of gold nanoparticle-coupled liposomes significantly decreased tumor survival, while RGD-liposomes exhibited high tumor targeting and rapid release in vivo imaging. It is expected that the combination of these models with ultrasound is served as an effective drug delivery material with therapeutic outcomes.