You are part of a team developing an osmotic pump for the delivery of a drug. An osmotic pump has two compartments; one compartment, the osmotic engine, contains an osmotic agent that is retained by a...

You are part of a team developing an osmotic pump for the delivery of a drug. An osmotic pump has two compartments; one compartment, the osmotic engine, contains an osmotic agent that is retained by a membrane and imbibes water when placed within the body. This compartment also has a piston that expands against another compartment containing the drug solution as water is imbibed from the surroundings. The movement of the piston then forces the drug solution out into the body. A question has been raised as to what would be the maximum pressure within the device if after implantation the exit tube that delivers the drug becomes blocked? Assume the interstitial fluid pressure is –3 mmHg and its osmotic pressure is 8 mmHg. If the concentration of the osmotic agent is 0.05 OsM, what would be the maximum hydrodynamic pressure within the device assuming the delivery tube becomes blocked?