Daniel Blankschtein

Ultrasound-mediated transdermal protein delivery

Transdermal drug delivery offers a potential method of drug administration. However, its application has been limited to a few low molecular weight compounds because of the extremely low permeability of human skin. Low-frequency ultrasound was shown to increase the permeability of human skin to many drugs, including high molecular weight proteins, by several orders of magnitude, thus making transdermal administration of these molecules potentially feasible. It was possible to deliver and control therapeutic doses of proteins such as insulin, interferon gamma, and erythropoeitin across human skin. Low-frequency ultrasound is thus a potential noninvasive substitute for traditional methods of drug delivery, such as injections.

Bi- and trilayer graphene solutions

Bilayer and trilayer graphene with controlled stacking is emerging as one of the most promising candidates for post-silicon nanoelectronics. However, it is not yet possible to produce large quantities of bilayer or trilayer graphene with controlled stacking, as is required for many applications. Here, we demonstrate a solution-phase technique for the production of large-area, bilayer or trilayer graphene from graphite, with controlled stacking. The ionic compounds iodine chloride (ICl) or iodine bromide (IBr) intercalate the graphite starting material at every second or third layer, creating second- or third-stage controlled graphite intercolation compounds, respectively. The resulting solution dispersions are specifically enriched with bilayer or trilayer graphene, respectively. Because the process requires only mild sonication, it produces graphene flakes with areas as large as 50 µm(2). Moreover, the electronic properties of the flakes are superior to those achieved with other solution-based methods; for example, unannealed samples have resistivities as low as ∼1 kΩ and hole mobilities as high as ∼400 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). The solution-based process is expected to allow high-throughput production, functionalization, and the transfer of samples to arbitrary substrates.

Understanding the pH-Dependent Behavior of Graphene Oxide Aqueous Solutions: A Comparative Experimental and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study

Understanding the pH-dependent behavior of graphene oxide (GO) aqueous solutions is important to the production of assembled GO or reduced GO films for electronic, optical, and biological applications. We have carried out a comparative experimental and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation study to uncover the mechanisms behind the aggregation and the surface activity of GO at different pH values. At low pH, the carboxyl groups are protonated such that the GO sheets become less hydrophilic and form aggregates. MD simulations further suggest that the aggregates exhibit a GO-water-GO sandwichlike structure and as a result are stable in water instead of precipitating. However, at high pH, the deprotonated carboxyl groups are very hydrophilic such that individual GO sheets prefer to dissolve in bulk water like a regular salt. The GO aggregates formed at low pH are found to be surface-active and do not exhibit characteristic features of surfactant micelles. Our findings suggest that GO does not behave like conventional surfactants in pH 1 and 14 aqueous solutions. The molecular-level understanding of the solution behavior of GO presented here can facilitate and improve the experimental techniques used to synthesize and sort large, uniform GO dispersions in a solution phase.

Ultrasound-Mediated Transdermal Drug Delivery: Mechanisms, Scope, and Emerging Trends

The use of ultrasound for the delivery of drugs to, or through, the skin is commonly known as sonophoresis or phonophoresis. The use of therapeutic and high frequencies of ultrasound (≥0.7MHz) for sonophoresis (HFS) dates back to as early as the 1950s, while low-frequency sonophoresis (LFS, 20-100kHz) has only been investigated significantly during the past two decades. Although HFS and LFS are similar because they both utilize ultrasound to increase the skin penetration of permeants, the mechanisms associated with each physical enhancer are different. Specifically, the location of cavitation and the extent to which each process can increase skin permeability are quite dissimilar. Although the applications of both technologies are different, they each have strengths that could allow them to improve current methods of local, regional, and systemic drug delivery. In this review, we will discuss the mechanisms associated with both HFS and LFS, specifically concentrating on the key mechanistic differences between these two skin treatment methods. Background on the relevant physics associated with ultrasound transmitted through aqueous media will also be discussed, along with implications of these phenomena on sonophoresis. Finally, a thorough review of the literature is included, dating back to the first published reports of sonophoresis, including a discussion of emerging trends in the field.

Molecular‐thermodynamic approach to predict micellization, phase behavior and phase separation of micellar solutions. I. Application to nonionic surfactants

We present a detailed description of a molecular‐thermodynamic approach which consists of blending a molecular model of micellization with a thermodynamic theory of phase behavior and phase separation of isotropic (surfactant–water) micellar solutions. The molecular model incorporates the effects of solvent properties and surfactant molecular architecture on physical factors which control micelle formation and growth. These factors include (i) hydrophobic interactions between surfactant hydrocarbon chains and water, (ii) conformational effects associated with hydrocarbon‐chain packing in the micellar core, (iii) curvature‐dependent interfacial effects at the micellar core–water interface, and (iv) steric and electrostatic interactions between surfactant hydrophilic moieties. The free energy of micellization gmic is computed for various micellar shapes Sh and micellar‐core minor radii lc. The ‘‘optimum’’ equilibrium values, l*c, Sh*, and g*mic, are obtained by minimizing gmic with respect to lc and Sh. The...

Phenomenological theory of equilibrium thermodynamic properties and phase separation of micellar solutions

A detailed description and generalization of a recently developed theory, which provides analytic representations of the distribution of micellar species and the equilibrium thermodynamic properties of amphiphile–water solutions that exhibit phase separation and critical phenomena, is presented. We propose a form for the structure of the Gibbs free energy which accurately describes the essential physical factors responsible for micellization and phase separation. These are: the free‐energy advantage associated with the formation of individual micellar species,the entropy of mixing of the extended micelles and the water molecules, and the free energy of interaction between each member of the micellar size distribution. By applying to this Gibbs free energy the conditions of multiple chemical equilibrium and thermodynamic stability, all the relevant statistical and thermodynamic equilibrium properties of the micellar solution can be calculated. These properties include the location of the critical concentra...

Theoretical Description of Transdermal Transport of Hydrophilic Permeants: Application to Low‐Frequency Sonophoresis

Application of ultrasound enhances transdermal transport of drugs (sonophoresis). The enhancement may result from enhanced diffusion due to ultrasound-induced skin alteration and/or from forced convection. To understand the relative roles played by these two mechanisms in low-frequency sonophoresis (LFS, 20 kHz), a theory describing the transdermal transport of hydrophilic permeants in both the absence and the presence of ultrasound was developed using fundamental equations of membrane transport, hindered-transport theory, and electrochemistry principles. With mannitol as the model permeant, the role of convection in LFS was evaluated experimentally with two commonly used in vitro skin models- human cadaver heat-stripped skin (HSS) and pig full-thickness skin (FTS). Our results suggest that convection plays an important role during LFS of HSS, whereas its effect is negligible when FTS is utilized. The theory developed was utilized to characterize the transport pathways of hydrophilic permeants during both passive diffusion and LFS with mannitol and sucrose as two probe molecules. Our results show that the porous pathway theory can adequately describe the transdermal transport of hydrophilic permeants in both the presence and the absence of ultrasound. Ultrasound alters the skin porous pathways by two mechanisms: (1) enlarging the skin effective pore radii, or (2) creating more pores and/or making the pores less tortuous. During passive diffusion, both HSS and FTS exhibit the same skin effective pore radii (r = 28 +/- 13 A). In contrast, during LFS, r within HSS is greatly enlarged (r > 125 A), whereas r within FTS does not change significantly (23 +/- 10 A). The observed different roles of convection during LFS across HSS and FTS can be attributed to the different degrees of structural alteration that these two types of skin undergo during LFS.

Wetting translucency of graphene

For the case of water on supported graphene, about 30% of the van der Waals interactions between the water and the substrate are transmitted through the one-atom-thick layer.

Novel bioseparations using two‐phase aqueous micellar systems

We review our recent experimental and theoretical work aimed at investigating the potential use of two-phase aqueous micellar systems for the separation or concentration of hydrophilic biomaterials using the principle of liquid-liquid extraction. The systems studied include (1) a two-phase aqueous micellar system composed of the nonionic surfactant n-decyl tetra(ethylene oxide) (C(10)E(4)) and (2) a two-phase aqueous micellar system composed of the zwitterionic surfactant dioctanoyl phosphatidyl-choline (C(8)-lecithin). The experimental partitioning behavior of several hydrophilic proteins, including cytochrome (c), soybean trypsin inhibitor, ovalbumin, bovine serum albumin, and catalase, in two-phase aqueous C(10)E(4) and C(8)-lecithin micellar systems is reviewed. A theoretical formulation of the protein partitioning behavior, based on a description of excluded-volume interactions between the hydrophilic proteins and the micelles, is also reviewed. The theoretically predicted protein partitioning behavior is compared with that observed experimentally and is found to be in good agreement. The results of our investigation suggest that two-phase aqueous micellar systems of the type examined in this article are indeed potentially useful as extractant phases for the separation or concentration of proteins and other biomaterials.

An Investigation of the Role of Cavitation in Low-Frequency Ultrasound-Mediated Transdermal Drug Transport

AbstractPurpose. Low-frequency ultrasound (20 kHz) has been shown to increase the skin permeability to drugs, a phenomenon referred to as low-frequency sonophoresis (LFS). Many previous studies of sonophoresis have proposed that ultrasound-induced cavitation plays the central role in enhancing transdermal drug transport. In this study, we sought to definitively test the role of cavitation during LFS, as well as to identify the critical type(s) and site(s) of cavitation that are responsible for skin permeabilization during LFS. Methods. Pig full-thickness skin was treated by 20 kHz ultrasound, and the effect of LFS on the skin permeability was monitored by measuring the increase in the skin electrical conductance. A high-pressure LFS cell was constructed to completely suppress cavitation during LFS. An acoustic method, as well as chemical and physical dosimetry techniques, was utilized to monitor the cavitation activities during LFS. Results. The study using the high-pressure LFS cell showed definitively that ultrasound-induced cavitation is the key mechanism via which LFS permeabilizes the skin. By selectively suppressing cavitation outside the skin using a high-viscosity coupling medium, we further demonstrated that cavitation occurring outside the skin is responsible for the skin permeabilization effect, while internal cavitation (cavitation inside the skin) was not detected using the acoustic measurement method under the ultrasound conditions examined. Acoustic measurement of the two types of cavitation activities (transient vs. stable) indicates that transient cavitation plays the major role in LFS-induced skin permeabilization. Through quantification of the transient cavitation activity at two specific locations of the LFS system, including comparing the dependence of these cavitation activities on ultrasound intensity with that of the skin permeabilization effect, we demonstrated that transient cavitation occurring on, or in the vicinity of, the skin membrane is the central mechanism that is responsible for the observed enhancement of skin permeability by LFS. Conclusions. LFS-induced skin permeabilization results primarily from the direct mechanical impact of gas bubbles collapsing on the skin surface (resulting in microjets and shock waves).