Ultrasound mediated therapies for novel healthcare technologies
Project ID: 2531ad1580
(You will need this ID for your application)
Research Theme: Healthcare Technologies
UCL Lead department: School of Pharmacy
Lead Supervisor: Maryam Parhizkar
Project Summary:
Background:
Sonophoresis is a non-invasive technique used for enhancing the delivery of drugs through the skin, leveraging ultrasound (US) waves as a physical method to increase the permeation of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). While this approach has shown promise in enhancing topical drug delivery, research on the use of ultrasound-responsive drug carriers (specifically gas-filled microbubbles) remains limited. Microbubbles have the potential to further improve sonophoresis, enhancing drug penetration through cavitation. Franz diffusion cells are widely employed for in vitro testing of drug permeation across skin or synthetic membranes, providing valuable data on the effectiveness of topical formulations. However, conventional Franz diffusion cell setups are not designed with ultrasound compatibility in mind. As a result, the acoustic properties of these systems have not been extensively characterized, presenting a challenge for accurate evaluation of sonophoresis effects in laboratory settings. This gap in research underscores the need for more advanced experimental setups to properly assess the role of ultrasound and ultrasound-responsive carriers in drug delivery applications.
What you will be doing:
As part of this project, candidates would receive training in a wide variety of techniques. These include: Ultrasound techniques, Skin drug delivery, microfluidics, 3D printing etc.
The supervisory team:
This project is supervised by a multidisciplinary team of Dr Maryam Parhizkar and Dr Majella Lane at UCL School of Pharmacy and Dr Dario Carugo at University of Oxford.
Who we are looking for:
This project would suit candidates with a degree in engineering, chemistry, pharmacy, or a related science, who are interested in working on a multidisciplinary project. Prior experience with the techniques used in the project is not essential, and training will be provided as needed.