Drug delivery in biofilms
Most bacterial infections in the body are caused by bacteria growing as mono- or multi-species biofilms. Bacteria within biofilms have an increased (up to 1500-fold) resistance to antimicrobial treatments compared with their planktonic cells. One of the reasons for the increased resistance is failure of the drugs to penetrate the biofilm. We have shown that pressure waves increase drug delivery into biofilms and thus, enhance the therapeutic effect of drugs.
Pressure waves (high amplitude pressure transients) generated by lasers is one of the latest platforms for drug delivery invented and developed at the Wellman Laboratories.of Photomedicine. Pressure waves have a broad range of applications. In addition to drug delivery into biofilms, they have been applied to cells for delivery into the cytoplasm, skin for transcutaneous delivery and for the permeabilization of the nuclear envelope for direct delivery into the cell nucleus.
Spectroscopic markers
Optical technologies expand the spectral range of observation and can quantify visual assessment. Optical technologies are sensitive, non-invasive and can be miniaturized. Our objective is to identify spectroscopic markers that correlate with physiological conditions such as proliferation, differentiation, viability, inflammation and ischemia, determine their In-vivo distribution, and investigate their molecular origins. Fluorescence excitation spectroscopy has been applied to measure epidermal proliferation and differentiation in human skin as well as to differentiate irritant from allergic contact dermatitis.
|
