Summary: The effect of local anesthetics, particularly those which are hydrophilic, such as tetrodotoxin (TTX), is impeded by tissue barriers that restrict access to individual nerve cells. Insonation has been used to disrupt vascular and cell membranes, which can facilitate transport of substances across biological barriers. Using an in vivo model of local anesthetic delivery, we investigated the effect of acoustic intensity on insonation-mediated delivery of local anesthetics to the peripheral nerve. We found that insonation at acoustic intensity greater than 0.5 W/cm2 was capable of enhancing TTX delivery to the peripheral nerve but not bupivacaine, a more hydrophobic local anesthetic. The finding here suggests that the effect of insonation on local drug delivery to the peripheral nerve depends on the hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance of the drug.
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