The General Hospital Corporation

Massachusetts General Hospital Corporation

Thomas J Flotte

Apostolos G Doukas

Daniel J McAuliffe

Nikiforos Kollias

Shun Lee

Therese M Anderson

Jerome D Fallon

Jessica L Fewkes

A method for delivering compounds through epithelial cell layers using impulse transients is described. The method involves applying a compound to, e.g., the stratum corneum, of a patient and then inducing impulse transients to create transient increases in the permeability of epithelial tissue, thereby facilitating delivery of the compound across the epithelial cell layer.

Compound delivery using impulse transients

A device for transdermal delivery of a composition includes a housing partitioned into a delivery chamber arranged to contain the composition and a detonation chamber mechanically coupled to the delivery chamber. The detonation chamber is intended to contain an energetic material producing an impulse transient in response to a detonating stimulus. The housing is coupled to an energy coupling element, or detonator, for communicating energy provided by an external energy source into the detonating stimulus in the detonation chamber. The detonator can detonate the energetic material by causing an electrical discharge or spark within the detonation chamber. The detonator can be a piezoelectric film in electrical communication with the energetic material.

Transdermal delivery

The invention features an apparatus and method for demarcating the margins of a tumor in a target tissue by exposing the target tissue to radiation of a wavelength that induces fluorescence in tumorous but not in non-tumorous tissue. A decrease in fluorescence indicates the presence of tumor cells.

Apparatus and method for demarcating tumors

A method of increasing delivery of a compound from an exterior region to an interior region of a cell without causing substantial lethality to the cell. The method includes the steps of first providing the compound in the exterior region proximal to a membrane of the cell, and then exposing the membrane to a time-dependent impulse transient characterized by a rise time and a magnitude. In this manner, the exposing step temporarily increases the permeability of the membrane, resulting in an increase in the diffusion of the compound from the exterior region to the interior region thereby enhancing the delivery of the compound without causing substantial lethality to the cell.

Compound delivery using high-pressure impulse transients

A method of treating diseases of cell proliferation in a patient such as neoplasms and rheumatoid arthritis including administering sub-toxic doses of a compound in combination with high pressure impulse transients. Methods are also provided for identifying compounds and impulse transient dosages useful for high pressure impulse transient chemotherapy.

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Boston, MA, United States of America

Thomas J Flotte