Iontophoresis is a process of
transdermal drug delivery by use of a voltage gradient on the
skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...
.
Molecules are transported across the
stratum corneum
The stratum corneum (Latin for 'horny layer') is the outermost layer of the epidermis. The human stratum corneum comprises several levels of flattened corneocytes that are divided into two layers: the ''stratum disjunctum'' and ''stratum compact ...
by
electrophoresis
Electrophoresis, from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, "amber") and φόρησις (phórēsis, "the act of bearing"), is the motion of dispersed particles relative to a fluid under the influence of a spatially uniform electric fie ...
and
electroosmosis Electroosmotic flow (or electro-osmotic flow, often abbreviated EOF; synonymous with electroosmosis or electroendosmosis) is the motion of liquid induced by an applied potential across a porous material, capillary tube, membrane, microchannel, or an ...
and the electric field can also increase the permeability of the skin.
These phenomena, directly and indirectly, constitute active transport of matter due to an applied electric current. The transport is measured in units of chemical
flux
Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ph ...
, commonly μmol/(cm
2*hour).
Iontophoresis has experimental, therapeutic and diagnostic applications.
Uses
Laboratory uses
Iontophoresis is useful in laboratory experiments, especially in
neuropharmacology
Neuropharmacology is the study of how drugs affect function in the nervous system, and the neural mechanisms through which they influence behavior. There are two main branches of neuropharmacology: behavioral and molecular. Behavioral neuropharmac ...
.
Transmitter molecules naturally pass signals between
neuron
A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. N ...
s. By microelectrophoretic techniques, including microiontophoresis, neurotransmitters and other chemical agents can be artificially administered very near living and naturally functioning neurons, the activity of which can be simultaneously recorded. This is used to elucidate their pharmacological properties and natural roles.
[Curtis, D.R, (1964). Microelectrophoresis, in ''Physical Techniques in Biological Research'', vol. , ed. W.L. Nastuk, Academic Press, New York, pp. 144–190.]
Therapeutic uses
Therapeutically, electromotive drug administration (EMDA) delivers a medicine or other chemical through the skin. In a manner of speaking, it is an injection without a needle, and may be described as non-invasive. It is different from
dermal patches, which do not rely on an electric field. It drives a charged substance, usually a medication or bioactive agent, transdermally by repulsive electromotive force, through the skin. A small electric current is applied to an iontophoretic chamber placed on the skin, containing a charged active agent and its solvent vehicle. Another chamber or a skin electrode carries the return current. One or two chambers are filled with a solution containing an active ingredient and its solvent vehicle. The positively charged chamber, called the
anode
An anode is an electrode of a polarized electrical device through which conventional current enters the device. This contrasts with a cathode, an electrode of the device through which conventional current leaves the device. A common mnemonic is ...
, will repel a positively charged chemical species, whereas the negatively charged chamber, called the
cathode
A cathode is the electrode from which a conventional current leaves a polarized electrical device. This definition can be recalled by using the mnemonic ''CCD'' for ''Cathode Current Departs''. A conventional current describes the direction in whi ...
, will repel a negatively charged species into the skin.
It is used to treat some types of palmar-plantar
hyperhidrosis
Hyperhidrosis is a condition characterized by abnormally increased sweating, in excess of that required for regulation of body temperature. Although primarily a benign physical burden, hyperhidrosis can deteriorate quality of life from a psychologi ...
. In the treatment of hyperhidrosis,
tap water
Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...
is often the chosen solution for mild and medium forms. In very serious cases of hyperhidrosis, a solution containing
glycopyrronium bromide or glycopyrrolate, a
cholinergic
Cholinergic agents are compounds which mimic the action of acetylcholine and/or butyrylcholine. In general, the word "choline" describes the various quaternary ammonium salts containing the ''N'',''N'',''N''-trimethylethanolammonium cation. F ...
inhibitor, can be used.
Diagnostic uses
Iontophoresis of
acetylcholine
Acetylcholine (ACh) is an organic chemical that functions in the brain and body of many types of animals (including humans) as a neurotransmitter. Its name is derived from its chemical structure: it is an ester of acetic acid and choline. Part ...
is used in research as a way to test the health of the
endothelium
The endothelium is a single layer of squamous endothelial cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. The endothelium forms an interface between circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and the rest of the vessel ...
by stimulating endothelium-dependent generation of
nitric oxide
Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its che ...
and subsequent microvascular vasodilation. Acetylcholine is positively charged and is therefore placed in the anode chamber.
Pilocarpine
Pilocarpine is a medication used to reduce pressure inside the eye and treat dry mouth. As eye drops it is used to manage angle closure glaucoma until surgery can be performed, ocular hypertension, primary open angle glaucoma, and to bring abou ...
iontophoresis is often used to stimulate sweat secretion, as part of
cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...
diagnosis.
''Reverse iontophoresis'' is a technique by which molecules are removed from within the body for detection. The negative charge of the skin at buffered pH causes it to be permselective to
cations
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
such as sodium and potassium ions, allowing iontophoresis which causes electroosmosis, solvent flow towards the anode. Electroosmosis then causes electrophoresis, by which neutral molecules, including glucose, are transported across the skin. This is currently being used in such devices as the
GlucoWatch
Blood glucose monitoring is the use of a glucose meter for testing the concentration of glucose in the blood ( glycemia). Particularly important in diabetes management, a blood glucose test is typically performed by piercing the skin (typically, ...
, which allows for blood glucose detection across skin layers.
See also
*
Fick's law of diffusion
Fick's laws of diffusion describe diffusion and were derived by Adolf Fick in 1855. They can be used to solve for the diffusion coefficient, . Fick's first law can be used to derive his second law which in turn is identical to the diffusion eq ...
*
Electrophoresis
Electrophoresis, from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, "amber") and φόρησις (phórēsis, "the act of bearing"), is the motion of dispersed particles relative to a fluid under the influence of a spatially uniform electric fie ...
*
Electrochemical skin conductance
Electrochemical skin conductance (ESC) is an objective, non-invasive and quantitative electrophysiological measure. It is based on reverse iontophoresis and (multiple) steady chronoamperometry (more specifically chronovoltametry).
ESC is intend ...
*
Electrotherapy (cosmetic)
Cosmetic electrotherapy is a range of beauty treatments that uses low electric currents passed through the skin to produce several therapeutic effects such as muscle toning in the body and micro-lifting of the face.Dawn Mernagh-Ward, Jennifer Ca ...
*
Phonophoresis
References
External links
Episode of TV series Quincy ME, featuring the use of iontophoresis to commit a murderIontophoresis Protocols for use in Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine
{{Electrophoresis
Electrophoresis
Medical devices