EAGER: Light Integrated novel multimodal microscale transdermal drug delivery biosystem

皮肤利什曼病是一种由寄生虫感染引起的皮肤病，每年影响多达一百万人。目前这种疾病的药物治疗存在许多缺点，包括听力损失和肾脏损伤。该联合北卡罗来纳州州立大学（NCSU）和俄亥俄州州立大学（OSU）项目的目标是了解包含微针阵列的微尺度生物系统的独特功能，该微针阵列（a）从光学组件发射光，随后（B）提供具有抗寄生虫活性的药物的局部释放。该项目旨在更好地了解一种新型的微型设备技术，该技术（a）使用聚焦光治疗寄生虫感染，（B）使用小型泵将抗寄生虫药物直接输送到感染部位。将同时提供光疗法和药物疗法的新型器械的功能与仅提供光疗法或药物疗法的器械进行比较。该项目的目的是通过与不同类型的治疗方法进行比较，评估多模式技术提高治疗效率的可行性。研究生将接受纤维光学和功能生物系统技术的微制造方面的培训 并将接受指导，采用有效的方法教授大型团体。PI将通过在北卡罗来纳州自然科学博物馆举办的季度科学星期六讲座和实践活动来传播该项目的成果。该项目的技术优势在于为多模态技术奠定基础，这将对癌症和其他疾病的新型精确治疗产生重大影响。与该项目相关的智力价值包括更好地理解多模态技术，包括两种或多种类型的药物治疗和/或基于设备的治疗;该技术被认为是工程研究的新兴领域。目标1将涉及包含光纤、泵和微针阵列的微尺度生物系统的制造。目标2将涉及微型生物系统的测试和验证。目标1和2将在NCSU进行。目标3将涉及评价微尺度生物系统的功效，其中光学功能和药物递送功能一起提供;将在OSU进行这种多模式方法与单独药物治疗和单独光治疗的比较。该项目支持的可行性研究将能够提交一份全面理解微尺度生物系统设计的完整提案。预计这种微型生物系统可以提供比传统药物疗法更有效的治疗皮肤利什曼病，这与重复给药，治疗时间长，toxicity.This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a skin disease caused by a parasitic infection, which affects up to one million people each year. There are many shortcomings to current drug treatments for this disease, including hearing loss and kidney damage. The goal of this joint North Carolina State University (NCSU) and Ohio State University (OSU) project is to understand the unique functionality of a microscale biosystem containing microneedle array that (a) emits light from an optical component and subsequently (b) provides local release of a drug with antiparasitic activity. This project seeks to better understand a new type of microscale device technology that both (a) uses focused light to treat the parasitic infection and (b) uses a small pump to deliver an antiparasitic drug directly to the site of infection. Functionality of the novel device that provides both light therapy and drug therapy will be compared with devices that provide either light therapy or drug therapy alone. Goal of the project is to evaluate the feasibility of the multimodal technology to enhance treatment efficiency by comparing with different types of therapies. Graduate students will be trained in fiber optics and microfabrication of functional biosystems technologies and will be mentored in effective methods for teaching large groups. The PI will disseminate results from the project through quarterly Science Saturday lectures and hands-on activities at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The technical benefit of this project lies in forming the basis for multimodal technology that will have significant impact on new types of precise treatments for cancer and other diseases.The intellectual merit associated with this project involves developing a better understanding of multimodal technologies, which include two or more types of pharmacologic therapy and/or device-based therapy; this technology is considered an emerging area of engineering research. Objective 1 will involve fabrication of a microscale biosystem containing optical fibers, a pump, and a microneedle array. Objective 2 will involve testing and validation of the microscale biosystem. Objective 1 and 2 will be performed at NCSU. Objective 3 will involve evaluation of the efficacy of the microscale biosystem in which optical functionality and drug delivery functionality are provided together; comparisons of this multimodal approach to drug therapy alone and light therapy alone will be performed at OSU. The feasibility study supported by this project will enable submission of a full proposal on comprehensively understanding the design of the microscale biosystem. It is anticipated that this microscale biosystem can provide a more effective treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis than conventional drug therapy, which is associated with repeated dosing, long treatment times, and toxicity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.