Development of a portable iontophoretic drug delivery device with in-vitro experiments for androgeneticalopecia treatment

Abstract

Objectives: This study presents the development of a portable drug delivery device using an iontophoresis method to treat the androgenetic alopecia with in-vitro experiment. To treat this condition, the drugs for alopecia treatment need to be delivered into the scalp. Therefore, iontophoretic stimulation was used in a portable drug delivery device to enhance the penetration of the drug delivery.
Methodology: The designed device consisted of a drug container, an iontophoretic stimulation part and a rechargeable part. The iontophoretic part included a voltage boosted circuit, a protection circuit to achieve the iontophoresis effect and to protect the device. The device was tested with an oscilloscope and an in-vitro experiment was also performed to test the operation of the device.
Results: According to the experiment’s results, the iontophoresis circuit board performed well as did the designed drug delivery device. And the results of the in-vitro experiment also per-formed well with the penetration enhanced drug delivery via stimulation with the iontophoresis method.
Conclusion: The presented portable iontophoretic device enhances the penetration of the drug delivery as proven by the experiment. Also, a positive feature of the device is that it allows patients to use it everywhere by themselves. Improving the device’s functionality and usage safety will be researched in the future.