Affiliations: [a] Interdisciplinary Program in Bioengineering, Seoul National University Graduate School, Seoul, Korea | [b] Department of Biomedical Engineering, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea | [c] Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea | [d] Department of Biomedical Engineering and Innovative Medical Technology Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Korea
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Jung Chan Lee, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Korea. E-mail: ljch@snu.ac.kr.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Elastomeric pumps have a curved infusion rate profile over infusion time. Chemically driven pumps can overcome such limitations of elastomeric pumps and infuse constantly. However, studies on the pharmacokinetic benefit of chemically-driven pumps are insufficient. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine effects of constant infusion with a chemically-driven pump on plasma drug concentrations compared to elastomeric pumps. METHODS: Infusion rate profiles of a chemically driven pump and two elastomeric pumps were measured in vitro tests under three height conditions of drug reservoir. Plasma drug concentrations were estimated using a pharmacokinetic model of 5-fluorouracil (5FU). RESULTS: The chemically-driven pump was more accurate than elastomeric pumps during the total infusion time (Root-mean-square-error (RMSE): 3% vs. 13%) which thus reduced its deviation of plasma 5FU concentration over time to one-fifth of that with an elastomeric pump. The chemically-driven pump had less than 5% of RMSE despite the influence of height difference. CONCLUSION: Although chemically-driven pumps maintained plasma 5FU concentration successfully and elastomeric pumps did not, both pumps were proper for 5FU infusion because the time-dependent changes in infusion rate did not affect the area under the curve. Chemically driven pumps would be more advantageous for drugs that are sensitive to their plasma concentrations.
