Undergraduate Laboratory Module on Skin Diffusion

Authors

  • James J. Norman Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Samantha N. Andrews Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Mark R. Prausnitz Georgia Institute of Technology

Abstract

To introduce students to an application of chemical engineering directly related to human health, we developed an experiment for the unit operations laboratory at Georgia Tech examining diffusion across cadaver skin in the context of transdermal drug delivery. In this laboratory module, students prepare mouse skin samples, set up diffusion cells with fluorescent dyes, calculate permeability coefficients and lag times, and comment on the relevance of their data to health and safety.

Author Biographies

James J. Norman, Georgia Institute of Technology

James J. Norman is a Ph.D. candidate in chemical and biomolecular engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. His current research focuses on hollow microneedles and self-administered vaccines.

Samantha N. Andrews, Georgia Institute of Technology

Samantha N. Andrews completed her Ph.D. in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. in materials science and engineering. Her thesis addressed microdermabrasion as a method to enhance transcutaneous drug delivery.

Mark R. Prausnitz, Georgia Institute of Technology

Mark R. Prausnitz is professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and the Cherry L. Emerson Faculty Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was educated at Stanford University (BS, ’88) and M.I.T. (Ph.D., ’94). Prof. Prausnitz currently teaches classes on pharmaceuticals, mass and energy balances, and technical communication. His research addresses novel biophysical mechanisms to improve drug, gene, and vaccine delivery using engineering technologies.

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Published

2011-09-01

Issue

Vol. 45 No. 4 (2011): Fall 2011

Section

Manuscripts