Design and validation of a low-cost photomodulator for in vivo photoactivation of a mGluR5 inhibitor

Hans Ajieren; Andrew Fox; Ethan Biggs; Gabriel Albors; Amadeu Llebaria; Pedro Irazoqui

doi:10.1007/s13534-023-00334-3

Design and validation of a low-cost photomodulator for in vivo photoactivation of a mGluR5 inhibitor

Biomed Eng Lett. 2023 Dec 4;14(2):245-254. doi: 10.1007/s13534-023-00334-3. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Authors

Hans Ajieren¹, Andrew Fox², Ethan Biggs², Gabriel Albors³, Amadeu Llebaria⁴, Pedro Irazoqui^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electrical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218 USA.
² Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA.
³ The Margolis Center for Health Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708 USA.
⁴ Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia, Spanish National Research Council, Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
⁵ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 733 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205 USA.

PMID: 38374907
PMCID: PMC10874351 (available on 2024-12-04)
DOI: 10.1007/s13534-023-00334-3

Abstract

Purpose: Severe side effects prevent the utilization of otherwise promising drugs in treatments. These side effects arise when drugs affect untargeted tissues due to poor target specificity. In photopharmacology, light controls the timing and the location of drug delivery, improving treatment specificity and pharmacokinetic control. Photopharmaceuticals have not seen widespread adoption in part because researchers do not always have access to reliable and reproducible light delivery devices at prices which fit within the larger research budget. Method: In this work, we present a customizable photomodulator for use in both wearable and implantable devices. For experimental validation of the photomodulator, we photolyse JF-NP-26 in rats. Results: We successfully drive in vivo photopharmacology with a tethered photomodulator and demonstrate modifications which enable the photomodulator to operate wirelessly. Conclusion: By documenting our photomodulator development, we hope to introduce researchers to a simple solution which significantly lowers the engineering barriers to photopharmacology research.

Graphical abstract: Researchers present a photomodulator, a device designed to facilitate in vivo photopharmacology. They demonstrate the in vivo capabilities of the photomodulator by photoreleasing raseglurant, an mGluR5 inhibitor, to treat pain in an acute rat model and follow this study by showing how to reconfigure the photomodulator to work wirelessly and interface with other biomedical devices.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13534-023-00334-3.

Keywords: Biomedical devices; Drug delivery; In vivo technology; Photopharmacology; Wireless technology.

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