THERMAL GENERATION SYSTEM FOR A NOVEL TTS

THE MECHANICAL DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL, PULSED TRANSDERMAL THERAPEUTIC SYSTEM (TTS) IS DESCRIBED. THE PROTOTYPE TTS USES A MEMBRANE PREPARED FROM A UNIQUE POLYMER MATERIAL THAT IS PROPRIETARY TO LANDEC CORPORATION. THESE MEMBRANES HAVE A VERY LOW DRUG PERMEABILITY BELOW A PARTICULAR "SWITCH" TEMPERATURE AND A HIGH PERMEABILITY ABOVE THAT TEMPERATURE. THIS CHANGE IN PERMEABILITY IS REVERSIBLE ALLOWING THE RELEASE OF DRUG TO BE TURNED ON AND OFF BY SIMPLY RAISING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE MEMBRANE A FEW DEGREES. THE INCREASE IN TEMPERATURE IS ACCOMPLISHED BY INCORPORATING INTO THE TTS A RECEIVER THAT WARMS IN RESPONSE TO A STIMULUS. BENEFITS OF A PULSATILE TTS INCLUDE THE REDUCTION OF TOLERANCE, PATIENT CONTROLLED THERAPY AND IMPROVED PATIENT COMPLIANCE. THIS GRANT FOCUSES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SIGNAL AND THERMAL GENERATION SYSTEM THAT ACTIVATES THE THERMALLY RESPONSIVE MEMBRANE. THE RESEARCH WILL ENCOMPASS A REVIEW OF HEATING TECHNOLOGIES APPROPRIATE TO THIS CONCEPT. A PROTOTYPE USING THE MOST APPROPRIATE HEATING METHOD WILL BE CONSTRUCTED AND EVALUATED WITH RESPECT TO RESPONSE TIME, TEMPERATURE CONTROL, AND OTHER PARAMETERS. FINALLY, THE THERMAL HEATING PROTOTYPE WILL BE LAMINATED INTO A TRANSDERMAL DEVICE AND THE RELEASE PROFILE OF A DRUG AS THE MEMBRANE RESPONDS TO THE HEAT STIMULUS WILL BE MONITORED IN VITRO.