ICorps: Innovative Printing Approach for Transdermal Drug Delivery

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Basal cell carcinoma is a medical condition in which the cells in the basal layer of the skin exhibit uncontrolled growth. In 2010, nearly three million Americans were diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, which the most common cancer among Hispanics and Caucasians. This condition is commonly treated by surgical removal of the affected skin. Unfortunately, surgery can lead to disfiguring scarring. In addition, complete surgical removal of basal cell carcinoma tumors near the brain or the eyes may be difficult to achieve. Several non-surgical basal cell carcinoma therapies have been recently developed; however, these treatments are associated with many side effects (e.g., inflammation and erosion). Direct (topical) administration of an anti-basal cell carcinoma therapy to the cancerous tissue provides several advantages over either oral or intravenous administration of an anti-basal cell carcinoma therapy, including delivery of a high concentration of the therapeutic agent to the site of the cancerous tissue. Toxic effects and other side effects may be reduced by minimizing exposure of the entire body to the anti-basal cell carcinoma therapy. In addition, treatments that precisely fit the geometry of the basal cell carcinoma tumor may be more effective than treatments that are based on arbitrary tumor dimensions. This project will apply inkjet printing-based additive manufacturing technology and a drug that shows tremendous promise as an anti-basal cell carcinoma therapy to overcome limitations associated with conventional treatment of basal cell carcinoma. This I-Corps team will use benchtop studies to demonstrate that the microstructured devices exhibit appropriate skin interaction and anti-basal cell carcinoma properties for topical treatment of basal cell carcinoma. The goal of this I-Corps project is to use an inkjet printing-based additive manufacturing approach to prepare microstructured devices with a biomimetic design for localized treatment of basal cell carcinoma. The mechanical properties and functionality parameters, including the stiffness of the medical device material, the anti-cancer activity of the device material, the fracture properties of the device, and the skin interaction properties of the device, will be compared against predetermined clinically-relevant milestones. Microstructured medical devices with a mosquito-like biomimetic design will be prepared using a combination of photopolymerization-based additive manufacturing and micromolding. Piezoelectric inkjet printing will be used to apply an anti-basal cell carcinoma agent that shows poor solubility in aqueous media to the surfaces of the microstructured medical devices. An instrumented indentation approach known as nanoindentation will be used to confirm that the mechanical properties of the microstructured medical device are appropriate for interaction with the tumor. A benchtop study involving cancerous and normal skin cells will be used to confirm that the microstructured medical device eradicates cancerous cells but leaves normal cells unaffected. Studies with cadaveric porcine skin, a substitute for human skin, will be used to confirm that microstructured medical device can successfully deliver the therapy to the skin without fracture. This project will support the fabrication of demonstrator microstructured medical devices for eventual human (clinical) studies, leading to the rapid development of devices for clinical use. In addition, the I-Corps project will assess how to transfer this innovative anti-basal cell carcinoma therapy from the benchtop into a viable commercial product.