Ultrasensitive Phototriggered Local Anesthesia.

Zhan, Changyou; Wang, Weiping; Santamaria, Claudia; Wang, Bruce; Rwei, Alina; Timko, Brian P; Kohane, Daniel S · Nano Lett · 2017

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

An injectable local anesthetic producing repeatable on-demand nerve block would be desirable for pain management. Here we present a phototriggerable device to achieve repeatable and adjustable on-demand local anesthesia in superficial or deep tissues, consisting of gold nanorods attached to low temperature sensitive liposomes (LTSL). The particles were loaded with tetrodotoxin and dexmedetomidine. Near-infrared light (NIR, 808 nm, continuous wave) could heat gold nanorods at low fluence (short duration and low irradiance), leading to rapid release of payload. In vivo, 1-2 min of irradiation at ≤272 mW/cm<sup>2</sup> produced repeatable and adjustable on-demand infiltration anesthesia or sciatic nerve blockade with minimal toxicity. The nerve block intensity and duration correlated with the irradiance and duration of the applied light.

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