MICROELECTROMECHANICAL PRECISION DRUG DELIVERY

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DESCRIPTION: (Verbatim from the Applicant's Abstract) As our understanding of neurophysiology rapidly expands, it is becoming increasingly important to develop a system for precision localized drug delivery in the central nervous system. We intend to develop this solution using radical new microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Our solution combines a single channel microdrive with a microchannel drug delivery probe to form a steerable microiontophoresis drug delivery system. In Phase I, we will build the prototype device and test it in a hippocampal brain slice preparation. Specifically, we will evaluate both 1) and electrostatic shuffle micromotor (ESM) and 2) an electrostatic wobble micromotor (EWM) with integrated gear trains, and select one for the microdrive. We will also design a drug delivery probe using bulk silicon machining and mount it on the microdrive. If this prototype is successful in the hippocampal brain slice experiments, we hope to proceed to Phase II, when we will: 1) enhance the probes to simultaneously record electrical activity, and 2) implant the microprobes and microactuators in a rat model to demonstrate multi-site precise drug delivery in awake behaving animals. It is our long term goal to market these self-propelled microprobes for use in research, and to also explore clinical applications such as targeted drug delivery to epileptic seizure foci and dopamine delivery in Parkinson's patients. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: NOT AVAILABLE