Pilocarpine iontophoresis is often used to stimulate sweat secretion as part of the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis. [12] Reverse iontophoresis is a technique in which molecules are removed from inside the body to be detected. The negative charge of the skin at buffered pH makes it permselective to cations such as sodium and potassium ions, which allows iontophoresis, which causes electroosmosis, solvent flow to the anode. Electroosmose then causes electrophoresis, in which neutral molecules, including glucose, are transported through the skin. This is currently used in devices such as the GlucoWatch, which allows the monitoring of blood sugar through the layers of the skin. Iontophoresis is useful in laboratory experiments, especially in neuropharmacology. [5] Transmitting molecules naturally relay signals between neurons. Through microelectrophoretic techniques, including microiontophoresis, neurotransmitters and other chemical agents can be artificially administered from very close and naturally functioning neurons whose activity can be recorded simultaneously. This is used to elucidate their pharmacological properties and natural roles. [6] Iontophoresis is a process of transdermal drug delivery using a stress gradient on the skin. [1] [2] Molecules are transported through the stratum corneum by electrophoresis and electroosmose, and the electric field can also increase the permeability of the skin.

[3] [4] These phenomena directly and indirectly represent an active transport of matter due to an applied electric current. Transport is measured in units of chemical flux, usually μmol/(cm2* hour). Iontophoresis has experimental, therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Acetylcholine iontophoresis is used in research to test endothelial health by stimulating endothelium-dependent nitric oxide production and subsequent microvascular vasodilation. Acetylcholine is positively charged and is therefore added to the anodic chamber. It is used to treat certain types of palmar-plantar hyperhidrosis. [9] In the treatment of hyperhidrosis, tap water is often the solution chosen for mild and medium forms. In very severe cases of hyperhidrosis, a solution containing glycoporyrronium bromide or glycoporyrrolate, a cholinergic inhibitor, may be used. [10] [11] Therapeutically, the administration of electromotor drugs (EMDA) delivers a drug or other chemical through the skin. [7] In a way, this is a needle-free injection and can be described as non-invasive.

It is different from dermal patches, which do not rely on an electric field. It carries a charged substance, usually a drug or bioactive agent, transdermic by electromotive force repellent, through the skin. A small electric current is applied to an iontophoretic chamber on the skin containing a charged active ingredient and its solvent. Another chamber or skin electrode carries the return current. One or two chambers are filled with a solution containing an active ingredient and its solvent. The positively charged chamber, called the anode, repels a positively charged chemical species, while the negatively charged chamber called the cathode repels a negatively charged species into the skin. [8] Iontophoresis: A transdermal delivery system in which a charge-bearing substance is carried through the skin by a weak electrical current. This method can be used to drive a drug over the skin barrier.