Lukashkin, Andrei N. and Sadreev, Ildar I. and Zakharova, Natalia and Russell, Ian J. and Yarin, Yury M. (2020) Local Drug Delivery to the Entire Cochlea without Breaching Its Boundaries. iScience, 23 (3). p. 100945. ISSN 25890042

Lukashkin, Andrei and Sadreev, Ildar I. and Zakharova, Natalia and Russell, Ian and Yarin, Yury M. (2021) Lukashkin, Andrei N. and Sadreev, Ildar I. and Zakharova, Natalia and Russell, Ian J. and Yarin, Yury M. (2020) Local Drug Delivery to the Entire Cochlea without Breaching Its Boundaries. iScience, 23 (3). p. 100945. ISSN 25890042. [Data Collection]

Project Description

The mammalian cochlea is one of the least accessible organs for drug delivery. Systemic administration of many drugs is severely limited by the blood-labyrinth barrier. Local intratympanic administration into the middle ear would be a preferable option in this case, and the only option for many newly emerging classes of drugs, but it leads to the formation of drug concentration gradients along the extensive, narrow cochlea. The gradients are orders of magnitude and well outside the therapeutic windows. Here we present an efficient, quick and simple method of cochlear pumping, through large amplitude, low-frequency reciprocal oscillations of the stapes and round window that can consistently and uniformly deliver drugs along the entire length of the intact cochlea within minutes without disrupting cochlear boundaries. The method should facilitate novel ways of approaching the treatment of inner ear disorders since it overcomes the challenge of delivering therapeutics along the entire cochlear length.