As part of a collaboration between the FDT Lab and Gassensmith Lab, we are working on an innovative project titled “Flow Dynamics of Biolistic Drug-Delivery and Therapeutic Microparticles”, exploring a novel skin-based drug delivery technique known as the MOF-Jet. This method presents a promising alternative to traditional needle-based drug administration, addressing critical issues such as biohazard waste, medical personnel shortages, and cross-contamination risks.
The concept was proposed by Professor Jeremiah Gassensmith‘s group, with Thomas Howlett leading the experimental work to investigate the delivery of drug-loaded metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) through a high-speed carrier gas.
On our end, Professor Kianoosh Yousefi and Ph.D. student Ahmed Hamada are focusing on conducting numerical simulations to investigate the intricate flow dynamics and particle interactions. Using a Lagrangian-Eulerian simulation framework and modeling the skin as a porous material, our team aims to focus on the flow dynamic aspects, studying how particles interact among each other and with the porous skin tissue. This approach provides important insights into the underlying mechanisms.
This ongoing collaboration holds great potential for advancing medical devices and therapeutic delivery systems, and we’re excited to continue pushing the boundaries of drug delivery technology!
A big thank you to The Robert A. Welch Foundation for their generous support and to the UT Dallas Office of Information Technology‘s CIRC for providing high-performance computing resources via the Ganymede2 supercomputer at The University of Texas at Dallas.