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100万人。目前对这种疾病的药物治疗有许多缺点，包括听力损失和肾脏损害。北卡罗莱纳州立大学（NCSU）和俄亥俄州立大学（OSU）联合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)从光学元件发射光，随后(b)提供具有抗寄生虫活性的药物的局部释放。该项目旨在更好地理解一种新型微型设备技术，该技术既可以(a)使用聚焦光治疗寄生虫感染，也可以(b)使用小型泵将抗寄生虫药物直接输送到感染部位。提供光治疗和药物治疗的新型装置的功能将与单独提供光治疗或药物治疗的装置进行比较。该项目的目的是通过比较不同类型的治疗方法，评估多模式技术提高治疗效率的可行性。研究生将接受光纤和功能性生物系统技术微加工方面的培训，并将接受有效的教学方法指导。PI将通过每季的科学星期六讲座和在北卡罗莱纳自然科学博物馆的实践活动来传播该项目的结果。该项目的技术效益在于形成多式联运技术的基础，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式技术，包括两种或两种以上的药物治疗和/或基于设备的治疗；该技术被认为是工程研究的一个新兴领域。目标1将涉及制造一个包含光纤、泵和微针阵列的微尺度生物系统。目标2将涉及微型生物系统的测试和验证。目的1和2将在NCSU进行。目标3将涉及评估光学功能和药物传递功能一起提供的微尺度生物系统的功效；将在俄勒冈州立大学进行这种多模式方法与单独药物治疗和单独光疗的比较。该项目的可行性研究将有助于提交一份全面了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治疗更有效的皮肤利什曼病治疗，传统药物治疗与重复给药、治疗时间长和毒性有关。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.