Transdermal drug technology specialists are continuing to search for new methods that can effectively and painlessly deliver larger molecules in therapeutic quantities to overcome the difficulties associated with the oral route, namely poor bioavailability due to hepatic metabolism (first pass) and the tendency to produce rapid blood level spikes (both high and low). Transdermal delivery can improve the therapeutic efficacy and safety of drugs by more precise (i.e., site-specific) way but spatial and temporal placement within the body is required to reduce both the size and number of doses necessary to achieve the objective of systemic medication through topical application to the intact skin surface. Modulation of formulation excipients and addition of chemical enhancers can increase drug flux but that is not sufficient to ensure delivery of pharmacologically effective concentration of drug therefore, several new active rate controlled TDDS technologies (electrically-based, structure-based, velocity-based, etc.) have been developed and commercialized for the transdermal delivery of 'troublesome' drugs. This review article covers most of the new active transport technologies involved in enhancing the transdermal permeation into an effective DDS. In-depth analysis, formulation approaches, applications, advantages and disadvantages of these newer technologies are discussed.
A Weyl semimetal is a topologically non-trivial phase of matter that hosts mass-less Weyl fermions, the particles that remained elusive for more than 80 years since their theoretical discovery. The Weyl semimetals exhibit unique transport properties and remarkably high surface spin polarization. Here we show that a mesoscopic superconducting phase with critical temperature Tc=7 K can be realized by forming metallic point contacts with silver (Ag) on single crystals of TaAs, while neither Ag nor TaAs are superconductors. Andreev reflection spectroscopy of such point contacts reveals a superconducting gap of 1.2 meV that coexists with a high transport spin polarization of 60% indicating a highly spin-polarized supercurrent flowing through the point contacts on TaAs. Therefore, apart from the discovery of a novel mesoscopic superconducting phase, our results also show that the point contacts on Weyl semimetals are potentially important for applications in spintronics.
These findings suggest that, the FES therapy combined with conventional therapy treatment more effectively improves the walking ability and enhances the motor recovery when compared with conventional therapy alone in stroke survivors.
The findings of this study suggests that NMES therapy together with conventional physiotherapy more efficiently improves walking ability and functional outcomes as compared to conventional physiotherapy alone in children with spastic CP.
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