BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERS AT JOHNS HOPKINS REPORT THEY HAVE WORKED OUT A NONINVASIVE WAY TO RELEASE AND DELIVER CONCENTRATED AMOUNTS OF A DRUG TO THE BRAIN OF RATS IN A TEMPORARY, LOCALIZED MANNER USING ULTRASOUND. THE METHOD FIRST “CAGES” A DRUG INSIDE TINY, BIODEGRADABLE “NANOPARTICLES,” THEN ACTIVATES ITS RELEASE THROUGH PRECISELY TARGETED SOUND WAVES, SUCH AS THOSE USED TO PAINLESSLY AND NONINVASIVELY CREATE IMAGES OF INTERNAL ORGANS.
When Drug-Laden Nanoparticles (Left) Absorb Energy From Ultrasound Waves, Their Liquid Center (Green) Turns To Gas And Expands The Particles (Right), Loosening Their Exterior And Releasing The Drug (Blue).
Because most psychoactive drugs could be delivered this way, as well as many other types of drugs, the researchers say their method has the potential to advance many therapies and research studies inside and outside the brain.