Patent ID: 8092429

Claim:
A needle assembly for use in neurosurgical stereotactic delivery of a composition to the brain, comprising: element (a), a stylet having a blunt distal end and a proximal end; element (b), a needle guide having a rounded distal end, a proximal end, and a bore extending therethrough from said proximal end to said distal end, wherein said needle guide bore is slightly larger in inner diameter than the outer diameter of the stylet, so the latter is slidably insertable through the former; element (c), a guide tube having a rounded distal end, a proximal end, and a bore extending therethrough from said proximal end to said distal end, wherein said guide tube bore is slightly larger in inner diameter than the outer diameter of the needle guide, so the latter is slidably insertable through the former, and wherein further the proximal end of the guide tube is fitted with means for attachment to a stereotactic headframe; element (d), a needle cannula having a blunt distal end, a proximal end, and a bore extending therethrough from said proximal end to said distal end, wherein further said needle cannula is slightly smaller in outer diameter than the inner diameter of the needle guide, so the former is slidably insertable through the latter; wherein elements (a), (b) and (d) are each fitted with a stop at their proximal ends to prevent forward progress thereof through the bore of another element, and wherein further the length of elements (a), (b) and (d) of the needle assembly from their stops to their distal ends is such that the distal ends of (a) or (d) protrude to a pre-determined length from the distal end of (b) when inserted therethrough, and the distal end of (b) protrudes to a pre-determined length from the distal end of (c) when inserted therethrough; and element (e) comprising a drug delivery tube consisting of a material that is incapable of binding peptides contained in a proteinaceous composition, the composition of which comprises a viral recombinant expression vector having a polynucleotide-free protein capsid, the protein capsid being capable of binding by adsorption to, but the vector is resistant to inactivation by, stainless steel.