Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Assembly and Operation of an Acoustofluidic Device for Enhanced Delivery of Molecular Compounds to Cells
Published on: January 21, 2021
Low-frequency sonophoresis: application to the transdermal delivery of macromolecules and hydrophilic drugs
Baris E Polat1, Daniel Blankschtein, Robert Langer
1Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Importance Of The Field:
Transdermal delivery of macromolecules provides an attractive alternative route of drug administration when compared to oral delivery and hypodermic injection because of its ability to bypass the harsh gastrointestinal tract and deliver therapeutics non-invasively. However, the barrier properties of the skin only allow small, hydrophobic permeants to traverse the skin passively, greatly limiting the number of molecules that can be delivered via this route. The use of low-frequency ultrasound for the transdermal delivery of drugs, referred to as low-frequency sonophoresis (LFS), has been shown to increase skin permeability to a wide range of therapeutic compounds, including both hydrophilic molecules and macromolecules. Recent research has demonstrated the feasibility of delivering proteins, hormones, vaccines, liposomes and other nanoparticles through LFS-treated skin. In vivo studies have also established that LFS can act as a physical immunization adjuvant. LFS technology is already clinically available for use with topical anesthetics, with other technologies currently under investigation.
Areas Covered In This Review:
This review provides an overview of mechanisms associated with LFS-mediated transdermal delivery, followed by an in-depth discussion of the current applications of LFS technology for the delivery of hydrophilic drugs and macromolecules, including its use in clinical applications.
What The Reader Will Gain:
The reader will gain an insight into the field of LFS-mediated transdermal drug delivery, including how the use of this technology can improve on more traditional drug delivery methods.
Take Home Message:
Ultrasound technology has the potential to impact many more transdermal delivery platforms in the future due to its unique ability to enhance skin permeability in a controlled manner.
Related Concept Videos
Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems
Drug Absorption Mechanism: Passive Membrane Transport
Non-Oral Extravascular Drug Absorption Routes
Lipophilic drugs that are stable at salivary pH (6) and exhibit minimal binding to the oral mucosa are absorbed more effectively...
Bioavailability Enhancement: Drug Permeability Enhancement
Pore Transport and Ion-Pair Transport
Pore transport, also known as convective transport, is a process where small molecules like urea, water, and sugars rapidly cross cell membranes as though there were channels or pores in the membrane. Although direct microscopic evidence is limited but the concept of pores or channels is widely accepted based on physiological evidence. Despite the lack of direct microscopic...
Mechanisms of Drug Absorption: Paracellular, Transcellular, and Vesicular Transport
However, most drugs use the transcellular route, traversing directly through the cell membranes via two mechanisms: passive and active transport. Passive...
