The Secrets of Iontophoresis

Iontophoresis is a technique, which is used to push in a high quantity of charged ions both positive and negative. This technique is used in the medical field or the biological actions, where the ions are imparted to the body through the skin, by using the repulsive force exerted by the ion of the same charge as the charge of the ion to be imparted. The repulsive force is obtained by providing a small charge of electrons or protons on the chamber of the iontophoresis.

The chamber for iontophoresis comprise of active ions, which are charged particles of similar charge as that of the ion that is to be sent in through the skin. The chamber of the equipment used for the iontophoresis comprises of a single or a couple of chambers that carry the actively charged solution of ions, and are collectively known as a vehicle.

Anode is the term which is provided to the positively charge chamber which comprises of the positively charged ion and similarly the negatively charged chamber is known as the cathode chamber. The positively charged chamber is used to repel the positive charge on the skin and the negatively charged chamber is used to repel the negatively charged ions through the skin.

The charge, which is repelled by these chambers, is in the form of a chemical, which has some charge initially.

This is a very efficient and one of the most used techniques for the repulsion of the charges through the body. This process is also known as the Trans dermal delivery. This technique is very useful in providing the medicines on the skin and it helps the medicine to be directly absorbed by the skin.

In the patches technique where a patch of medicine is used to be passively discharged into the skin, this is an active method for the discharge of the drugs and medicine in the body. The process of osmosis occurs and is often known as electrical osmosis which is the process of movement of a high concentration solution to the low concentration solution through a semi permeable surface, the skin.

The electric forces are the main cause for the effective delivery of the drugs into the skin. Interestingly the movement of these chemicals is also measured and the factor chemical flux is used to note the movement of the chemical substance.

The transportation of the drugs by this method is influenced by a number of factors. One of the factors that govern the effective transport of the medicine using this method is the pH value of the skin. The molecular size of the chemical that is to be transported into the skin is also an effective factor.

The bigger the size of the chemical substance the more difficult is it to transport into the skin and the less is the chemical flux associated with it. Other factors that govern the flow of the medicine into the skin include the charecteristic properties of the chemical and the density of charge that is used in the iontophoresis process.