Radio frequency controlled wireless drug delivery devices

• Published in: Applied Physics Reviews 2019-12, Vol.6 (4)
• Main Authors: Khan, Ahsan Noor, Ermakov, Alexey, Sukhorukov, Gleb, Hao, Yang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1931-9401; 1931-9401
• DOI: 10.1063/1.5099128

Drug delivery devices have revolutionized the course of therapeutic treatment in the recent past. These devices provide a firm foundation for diverse strategies to overcome the limitations of systemic administration that cannot provide a high drug potency at the specific disease infected body tissues. The ongoing developments in the pharmaceutical industry have focused on exploring the reliable actuating mechanisms that can provide therapy and dispense drugs precisely to control therapeutic effects with minimum toxicity. The wireless actuation of drug delivery devices has been considered as an intervening noninvasive approach to release encapsulated drug compounds. This review paper highlights implantable and transdermal drug delivery devices that are based on wirelessly controlled microchips, micropumps, microvalves, and magnetic robots. Their key features, such as working principle, dimensions, materials, operating frequency, and wireless actuation through radio frequency for drug delivery are explained. The interaction of radio waves with electrically conductive and magnetic nanoparticles is also discussed for drug delivery. Furthermore, the radio frequency assisted data telemetry and wireless power transfer techniques are elucidated for drug delivery devices. The opportunities to enhance the patients' control on therapeutic indexes and release mechanisms are still possible by incorporating advanced wireless sensors for concocting future innovations in the wirelessly controlled drug delivery devices.