How much medication is delivered in a novel drug delivery technique that uses a tattoo machine?

• DOI: 10.1111/ijd.14408
• Publication Date: 2019-03-04T05:34:59Z
• Authors: Samir Arbache; Elizabeth da Cost...; Milton F. Diniz; Pedro Y. A. Paiva; Dirlene Roth; Samia T. Arbache; Edna L. T. Oliveira; Nilceo S. Michalany; Sergio H. Hirata
• Keywords: 03 medical and health sciences; Drug Delivery Systems; 0302 clinical medicine; Tattooing; Injections, Subcutaneous; Skin Absorption; Humans; Dermatologic Agents; Skin; 3. Good health

AbstractBackgroundEven though dermatologists often perform drug delivery procedures, it is necessary to assess their safety.ObjectiveQuantify the amount of medication delivered using the MMP drug delivery technique and outline other safety parameters.MethodsUsing a simple and novel technique, we attempted to quantify the amount of medication delivered by weighing human skin samples before and after delivery.ResultsIn drug delivery done on human skin using a liquid with a density of 1,271,460 μg/ml (the values expressed in this manuscript are in µg), a needling density of 570 perforations/cm2, and a needling depth of 300 microns, we estimate that 1,175 μg/cm2 were delivered (standard deviation 601 μg/cm2, standard error 190 μg/cm2).LimitationsThis result is only applicable to the protocol proposed in this study for the MMP drug delivery technique.ConclusionThe MMP drug delivery technique injects small amounts of medication (1,175 μg/cm2) homogeneously into the dermis.