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  5. Steady streaming as a method for drug delivery to the inner ear
 
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Steady streaming as a method for drug delivery to
the inner ear
File(s)
s41598-020-79946-z (1).pdf (3.88 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Sumner, Laura
Mestel, Andrew
Reichenbach, Johannes
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The inner ear, or cochlea, is a fluid-filled organ housing the mechanosensitive hair cells. Sound stimulation is relayed to the hair cells through waves that propagate on the elastic basilar membrane. Sensorineural hearing loss occurs from damage to the hair cells and cannot currently be cured. Although drugs have been proposed to prevent damage or restore functionality to hair cells, a difficulty with such treatments is ensuring adequate drug delivery to the cells. Because the cochlea is encased in the temporal bone, it can only be accessed from its basal end. However, the hair cells that are responsible for detecting speech-frequency sounds reside at the opposite, apical end. In this paper we show that steady streaming can be used to transport drugs along the cochlea. Steady streaming is a nonlinear process that accompanies many fluctuating fluid motions, including the sound-evoked waves in the inner ear. We combine an analytical approximation for the waves in the cochlea with computational fluid dynamic simulations to demonstrate that the combined steady streaming effects of several different frequencies can transport drugs from the base of the cochlea further towards the apex. Our results therefore show that multi-frequency sound stimulation can serve as a non-invasive method to transport drugs efficiently along the cochlea.
Date Issued
2021-01-08
Date Acceptance
2020-12-15
Citation
Scientific Reports, 2021, 11, pp.1-12
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/85048
URL
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-79946-z#Abs1
DOI
https://www.dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79946-z
ISSN
2045-2322
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Start Page
1
End Page
12
Journal / Book Title
Scientific Reports
Volume
11
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2021. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or
format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the
Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. Te images or other third party material in this
article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the
material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not
permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from
the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
US Army (US)
Identifier
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-79946-z#Abs1
Grant Number
EP/R032602/1
W911NF1910396
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
57
Date Publish Online
2021-01-08
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