Patch TB

Exploring Transdermal Patches and their Effectiveness Against Bacterial Infections

Saving the World One Transdermal Patch at a Time

Advancements in microfabrication during the 1990s allowed for the revolution in patient-drug transmission processes known as transdermal microneedle patches. The unique properties of these patches allowed for the combination of safe, rate-controlled drug transmission through the existing rate controlling polymer technologies popular in the overall transdermal patch market and penetration past the human body’s tough outermost layer of skin the Stratum Corneum.

Though this technology’s promise in the fight against a wide range of diseases and illnesses is exceptional, it has seen shockingly low adoption rates, in part due to difficulties in the wide-scale production process but also due to poor awareness of the technology.

TL;DR

• Transdermal Microneedle Patches combine the unique benefits of both Hypodermic Needles and Transdermal Patches–allowing for both an increase in patient compliance and decrease in ineffectiveness per dose of treatment.
• Bacterial Infections are created by the exponential growth in your body of certain diseases causing Bacteria. Most bacterial infections can be easily treated; however, when bacteria are met with bad conditions and a poor chance at reproduction, they will enter a state of hibernation known as the Dormant State.
• Transdermal Microneedle Patches exceed the effectiveness of both pills and Hypodermic Needles in the treatment of bacterial infections such as Tuberculosis thanks to their ability to administer large doses of medication over extended periods of time.

History of Transdermal Patches

The use of topically applied drug treatments on the skin has been utilized commonly in the practice of medicine since the earliest days of ancient health practice. However, the use of medicinally charged transdermal patches had clear beginnings in the 1800s with the commercial introduction of Mustard patches and Belladonna patches, used to relieve respiratory issues and muscular strains, respectively.

The development of transdermal patches with controlled dosages was introduced into the medical industry in the 1940–the 60s, where the first forms of more modern patches were introduced, utilizing a three-layer process consisting of a desiccant on a filter paper floor, followed by a sponge and adhered to the skin using a medically safe high-strength adhesive (the Wurster and Kramer’s system). From the 1970–to the 1990s, the modern implementation of patch systems was introduced in the form of passive non-invasive patch systems in a range of systems from Reservoir patches all the way to patches containing drugs within their adhesive lining.
Finally, the late 1990s brought with them the development of Minimally invasive transdermal patches, which utilized microneedle technology.

Characteristics of Bacterial Infections

Bacterial infections can be developed after incurring vulnerabilities in the body and/or after exposure/close contact with a contagious carrier.

These events can consist of the following scenarios

• Breathing/inhaling in the same close environment
• Broken skin/cuts
• Contact with infected faeces
• Touching contaminated surfaces
• Consuming contaminated water or food

Disease causing Bacteria tend to be classified under four main categories:

• Vibrio — responsible for diseases like Cholera and take a shape similar to a comma.
• Bacilli — responsible for diseases like Cystitis and Typhoid. Shaped like rods usually around 0.03mm in length.
• Cocci — responsible for diseases like Gonorrhoea. Sphere shaped and 0.001mm in diameter.
• Spirochaetes — responsible for diseases like syphilis. Shaped like small spirals.

Bacteria share two specific traits that are important to recognize when investigating ways in which to eradicate them.

(1). Bacteria reproduce by splitting in half, meaning their numbers often increase in exponential curves. Samples of bacteria have been known to grow from a single cell to half a million cells in a manner of several hours. (meaning if a patient were to miss a drug treatment, the bacterial infection in their body could grow exponentially worse rather quickly).

(2). In environmental conditions that are not conducive to a bacteria’s ability to reproduce, said bacteria will enter a state of hibernation, known as the dormant state. This state is characterized by the think outer layer the individual bacteria cells will form. When a bacteria is engaged in this state, it is identified as a spore. It is incredibly difficult to kill bacteria in this state of being.

In controlled bacterial infections, the body will naturally kill the bacteria by increasing blood flow to the infected areas and sending in antibodies to fight the pathogens. However, in the case of serious bacterial infections, antibiotics are required as our local immune systems typically can’t handle the infections on their own.

Types of Drug Administration Used to Fight Bacterial Infections — Benefits/Disadvantages

Pills

Although pills are historically a very widely accepted method of treatment for ailments in all areas of medicine, they suffer from numerous issues. Pills must be digested in the liver in order to be effective, which leads to long wait times for full absorption into the body and, more importantly, the chance of hepatotoxicity–where the patient’s liver is essentially poisoned by the medication they are consuming. Hepatotoxicity has been known to lead to things like liver failure and, as a result of which, death. On top of this, the patient must rely on their own will to remember to take medication daily–which makes treating a bacterial infection very difficult as even spending 24 hours without medication could lead to massive backwards steps in their journey towards recovery.

Hypodermic Needles

Hypodermic needles are incredibly effective at administering short-term, high dosage medications directly into the bloodstream. However, in order to treat long-term ailments, patients would require daily injections, and the fear and stigma surrounding Hypodermic needs prevent a future for them in everyday life of civilians. This does not even account for the fact that Hypodermic needles can easily be used to administer deadly dosages of otherwise safe medical drugs and thus should not be used without the supervision of a medical professional.

Transdermal Patches

Transdermal patches can have up to a long absorption time, meaning that large doses can be stored in a reservoir atop the patch to be administered at a controlled rate over a large period of time. They do not pierce the skin, making them more sensitive to religious groups who are often prevented from receiving treatment due to strict religious/societal policies. However, this also means that they cannot puncture the Stratum Corneum and thus cannot be used to administer drugs with a molecular weight of over 500 Daltons (which is the cap molecule size that the outermost layer of skin will absorb). This can lead to difficulties when treating bacterial infections like Tuberculosis because some available treatments have molecular weights higher than 500 Daltons.

Microneedle Transdermal Patch

Microneedle Transdermal Patches combine all the positives from a topically applied non-invasive transdermal patch while fixing their fatal flaw. By administering the drugs they are charged with through the artificial skin pores created by the microneedles, microneedle transdermal patches can effectively administer drugs of molecule sizes far beyond 500 Daltons.

Patch

Patch is a Transdermal, Microneedle patch system designed to autonomously administer the wide variety of drugs required to fight Mycobacterium Tuberculosis.

It utilizes an array of technologies made possible by recent advancements in Microfabrication, rate-controlling polymer skins and tuberculosis drug administration to drastically reduce to cost of tuberculosis treatment while simultaneously offering a more efficient and effective recovery process.

The Patch design is divided into four main layers

• The microneedles layer is the base of patch and the layer that contacts the skin; this consists of a network of hollow-body microneedles (meaning they allow the medication to flow through them into the Stratum Granulosum — acting as a pipeline between the pressurized drug packets and the skin.
• The Base of the Microneedles Layer is surrounded by an adhesive layer that both prevents the administered drugs from coming into contact with any other chemicals from the environment and also provides the suction grip required to hold the microneedles in place.
• Next is the Rate Controlling Polymer Layer; this layer serves as an intermediary between the microneedles and the pressurized medication packets and ensures that the medication is administered at the confirmed dosages/day.
• Next is a layer of pins designed to release the pressure and drugs from medication packets and direct them into the Rate Controlling Polymer.
• Finally, the actual medication packets snap into place over the layer of pins and immediately begin slowly administering medication. These packets are pressurized as to provide a constant force pushing the medication out of the packets.

Though the system is rather simple, each layer has a unique part to play and thus is very reliant on the whole system. Patch is, without doubt, the safest, cheapest and most innovative cure for tuberculosis to date. It combines an array of new technologies with age-old techniques providing a more efficient and effective treatment process.

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