We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




Magnetic Microspouter Regulates Drug Delivery

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 01 Mar 2017
Print article
Image: An implantable magnetic device can deliver drugs on-site, on-demand (Photo courtesy of UBC).
Image: An implantable magnetic device can deliver drugs on-site, on-demand (Photo courtesy of UBC).
A magnetic drug implant based on a silicone sponge can be used to remotely trigger the release of medication into surrounding tissue, according to a new study.

Developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia, the microspouter implantable device (which is just six mm in diameter), is composed of an silicone sponge with a core of carbonyl iron particles wrapped in a round polymer layer; a reservoir for the sponge installation and drug loading; and a soft membrane for sealing the device. The sponge is designed to provide the force necessary for drug release through magnetic field-induced reversible deformation.

The drug of choice is first injected into the device, and then surgically implanted in the treatment area. Following application of a magnetic field to the microspouter, the shrinking sponge triggers a “spouting” of the drug through a microaperture in the membrane. In an ex-vivo experiment on animal tissue with the prostate cancer drug docetaxel, the microspouter was found to have low background drug leakage that could allow for tunable drug release. The study describing the microspouter was published February 10, 2017, in Advanced Functional Materials.

“Actively controlling drug delivery is particularly relevant for conditions like diabetes, where the required dose and timing of insulin varies from patient to patient,” said study co-author research scientist John Jackson, of the UBC faculty of pharmaceutical sciences. “This device lets you release the actual dose that the patient needs when they need it, and it's sufficiently easy to use that patients could administer their own medication one day without having to go to a hospital.”

“All the results confirm the microspouter as a potential device for safe, long-time, and controlled drug release in local disease treatment,” conclude senior author professor of mechanical engineering Mu Chiao, PhD. “This could one day be used for administering painkillers, hormones, chemotherapy drugs, and other treatments for a wide range of health conditions. In the next few years we hope to be able to test it for long-term use and for viability in living models.”

Triggerable devices capable of on-demand, controlled release of therapeutics are attractive options for the treatment of local diseases, because of their potential to enhance therapeutic effectiveness with reduced systemic toxicity, and because they can offer an alternative for patients struggling with numerous pills or intravenous injections.

Gold Member
STI Test
Vivalytic Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Array
Gold Member
12-Channel ECG
CM1200B
Silver Member
Wireless Mobile ECG Recorder
NR-1207-3/NR-1207-E
New
Hysteroscopic Fluid Management System
HysteroFlow/HysteroBalance II

Print article

Channels

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: NTT and Olympus have begun the world\'s first joint demonstration experiment of a cloud endoscopy system (Photo courtesy of Olympus)

Cloud Endoscopy System Enables Real-Time Image Processing on the Cloud

Endoscopes, which are flexible tubes inserted into the body's natural openings for internal examination and biopsy collection, are becoming increasingly vital in medical diagnostics. Their minimal invasiveness... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The newly-launched solution can transform operating room scheduling and boost utilization rates (Photo courtesy of Fujitsu)

Surgical Capacity Optimization Solution Helps Hospitals Boost OR Utilization

An innovative solution has the capability to transform surgical capacity utilization by targeting the root cause of surgical block time inefficiencies. Fujitsu Limited’s (Tokyo, Japan) Surgical Capacity... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The PATHFAST hs-cTnI-II high-sensitivity troponin assay has been developed for the PATHFAST Biomarker Analyzer (Photo courtesy of Polymedco)

POC Myocardial Infarction Test Delivers Results in 17 Minutes

Chest pain is the second leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits by adults in the United States, generating over 7 million visits annually. In the event of a suspected heart attack, physicians... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.