Drug Delivery & Dispensing

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Using chemical "nanoblasts" that punch tiny holes in the protective membranes of cells, Georgia Tech researchers have demonstrated a new technique for getting therapeutic small molecules, proteins, and DNA directly into living cells. The work is believed to be the first to use activation of reactive carbon nanoparticles by lasers for medical applications.
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A new vaccine-delivery patch based on hundreds of microscopic needles that dissolve into the skin could someday allow people without medical training to painlessly administer vaccines. The new patch could also help prevent unsafe reuse of hypodermic needles, particularly in parts of the world with poor medical infrastructure.
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Photodynamic therapy is used to eradicate tumor tissue and provide enhanced drug delivery.

An obstacle to successful cancer drug therapy is the existence of drug delivery barriers, which result in insufficient and heterogeneous drug delivery to the tumor tissue. This drug delivery problem not only limits the clinical application of existing chemotherapeutics, but also decreases the effectiveness of many new drugs under development. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), a modality involving the combination of a photo-sensitizer and laser light, is an established cancer therapy. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of vascular-targeting PDT in eradicating tumor tissue, and modifying vascular barrier function for enhanced drug delivery.

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Biodegradable drug carriers allow sustained drug release for days or even weeks.

Silicon-based nanoporous particles as biodegradable drug carriers are advantageous in permeation, controlled release, and targeting. The use of biodegradable nanoporous silicon and silicon dioxide, with proper surface treatments, allows sustained drug release within the target site over a period of days, or even weeks, due to selective surface coating. A variety of surface treatment protocols are available for silicon-based particles to be stabilized, functionalized, or modified as required. Coated polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains showed the effective depression of both plasma protein adsorption and cell attachment to the modified surfaces, as well as the advantage of long circulating.

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University of Florida engineers have developed a prototype of a "tattletale pill" by adding a tiny microchip and digestible antenna to a standard pill capsule. The prototype opens up the possibility that mass-produced pills will someday be equipped to inform doctors and loved ones that patients have ingested their medication.
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Recombinant rFVIIa may have a damage-control role, quickly arresting blood loss until the casualty can be evacuated to a hospital.

Blood loss is a major cause of death among combat casualties, accounting for nearly half of all deaths on the battlefield. The great majority of these deaths is due to intracavitary hemorrhage that cannot be controlled by traditional methods such as tourniquets or pressure dressings. Surgery remains the best method for controlling this type of hemorrhage and preventing death, although methods are needed to control bleeding until patients can get surgical intervention.
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Combining embolization therapy with localized drug delivery, application of biomaterials is more effective.

The number of applications of synthetic biomaterials continues to expand. However, the imaging of injected biomaterials is important to control the treatment procedure in real time, to avoid complications, and to assess therapeutic success. Embolization is the obstruction of the blood flow in a vessel that can be an effective treatment for tumors in hepatocellular carcinoma or for uterine fibroids. By combining this embolization therapy with a localized drug delivery, the treatment can even be more effective. The material that is currently used is not radiopaque and can therefore cause difficulties for the interventional radiologist during placement of the embolic. Therefore, hollow, drug-carrying microspheres were made radiopaque.
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