Drug Delivery & Dispensing

Emerging Trends in Drug Delivery

A look at drug-delivery innovations that will shape the landscape and improve therapeutic outcomes for patients in the future.

Pens and Autoinjectors as Drug-Delivery Options

In the future of drug delivery, pens and autoinjectors will provide convenience, accuracy, and improved patient outcomes.

The Evolution of Precision Drug Delivery

A look at the transformative journey of drug-delivery devices, from traditional syringes to cutting-edge technologies, exploring the evolution of precision in administering medications for enhanced patient experience.

Improved Microneedle Technology

An improved technique uses a single microneedle to get enough fluid for a test in about 10 minutes. The microneedles penetrate the outer skin layer, but they don’t reach nerve endings and are hollow. Read on to learn more.

Drug Delivery

What drug-delivery device was introduced in 1979 to provide a controlled release of medication into the patient?

Dissolvable Microneedle Patch Enables Local Delivery of Immunomodulatory Microparticles

A team searched for small molecules as drug candidates and identified a bifunctional antibiotic, azithromycin (AZM), that not only inhibits bacterial...

Game-Changing Needle-Free COVID-19 Intranasal Vaccine

A next-generation COVID-19 mucosal vaccine is set to be a gamechanger not only when delivering the vaccine itself, but also for people who are needle-phobic. New research has been...

3D Printed Microneedle Technology Transforms Remote Healthcare

A revolutionary system combines remote health monitoring and drug delivery using 3D-printed hollow microneedles. This innovative approach promises to transform healthcare...

Creating a Safe Path to Sustainability in Drug Delivery

The environmental impact of the healthcare industry has been widely reported, with estimates it is responsible for around 4–5 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.1 As...

Videos of the Month

See the videos of the month, including one on a first-in-class medication that targets specific genetic mutations implicated in many types of cancer; one on new, scalable methods of developing battery- and solar-powered fibers; one on a nanofiber-based biodegradable millirobot, called Fibot, that can move in the intestines and degrade in response to the pH of its environment; and one on a new avenue in the attack against influenza viruses.

Tendon Healing: Nanoparticles for Precision Drug Delivery

Researchers at the University of Rochester and University of Oregon combined their expertise in tendon cell biology and drug-delivery systems to find a better way to deliver therapies that can reduce scar tissue and facilitate improved healing. Read on to learn what they found.

Microneedle Patch Reverses Alopecia Hair Loss

A novel treatment approach holds promise for painlessly delivering immune regulators to affected areas of the skin, promoting hair regrowth caused by alopecia areata.

From the Editor - FDA Releases Draft Guidance for Drug-Delivery Devices

At the end of June, FDA released a draft guidance that is designed to facilitate and streamline development of stand-alone devices and combination products by improving the consistency of drug-delivery performance information included in applications and submissions. Read on to learn more about it.

Videos of the Month

See the videos of the month, including one on drug-loaded 3D-printed films that could change cancer treatments forever; one on CELMoDs, which are designed to attack cancer in a novel way, by binding to a regulatory protein called cereblon, which then triggers the degradation of key cancer-driving proteins; one on the bridge recombinase mechanism, a precise and powerful tool to recombine and rearrange DNA in a programmable way; and one on immune cells called regulatory T-cells.

How Advanced Drug-Delivery Systems Are Improving Healthcare

Innovative reusable drug-delivery devices are transforming the administration of high-dose biologics by enabling self-administration of challenging drug formulations. These devices support high viscosity and larger injection volumes, enhancing patient comfort and adherence. Read on to learn more.

Ultrasound Beam Triggers ‘Nanodroplets’ to Deliver Drugs

What if drug delivery could be targeted at exactly the right spot? This would allow the total dose to be dramatically lower, thus minimizing side effects. Now, U.S. scientists have found a way to perfect a promising, emerging method that does just that. Read on to learn more.

Soft Implantable Polymer Balloon Enables Controlled and Targeted Drug Delivery

In a paper published in Biomaterials Research, a team led by researchers from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology present data on their nonbiodegradable, ultrasoft, and flexible balloon implant for drug delivery. Their findings demonstrate the balloon’s effectiveness in delivering a model drug both in the laboratory setting and in animal models. Read on to learn more.

Future Medications Could Be Personalized on a 3D Printer

In 2015, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first 3D-printed drug, Spritam (levetiracetam), for epilepsy. Several other manufacturers and drug companies are develop.ing their own ones. But the widespread adoption of 3D drug printing will require stringent quality control measures to ensure that people get the right medication and dosage. Read on to learn more about the subject.

Video Spotlight on Products and Services

See which products and services the video spotlight is on, including Dotmatics, an integrated scientific informatics platform that supports research and development activities; an autoinjector testing system featuring precise measurement and control capabilities; BD’s Physiojet disposable autoinjector; testing software that takes over the test sequence with determination of the results; Stevanto Group’s technology centers; and more.

Device Delivers Gene Therapy for Lung Disease

Drug-delivery researchers have developed a device with the potential to improve gene therapy for patients with inherited lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis. In cell culture and mouse models,...

Product Development

In honor of International Women in Engineering Day (June 23), what device did American nurse Letitia Mumford Geer invent in 1896?

Smart Nanoprobe Illuminates Prostate Cancer Cells

Obtaining detailed images of cancer cells buried deep within normal tissues has slowed the usefulness of existing imaging technology. An approach biomedical engineers are pursuing to...

Targeted Drug Delivery: Nanomedicine Paves the Way for Treatments

In a study published in Advanced Materials, researchers have demonstrated that an innovative nanovector (nanogel), which they developed, is able to deliver anti-inflammatory drugs in a targeted manner into glial cells actively involved in the evolution of spinal cord injury, a condition that leads to paraplegia or quadriplegia.

Nanofiber Bandages Fight Infection, Speed Healing

Researchers have identified an innovative way to harness the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of the botanical compound lawsone to make nanofiber-coated cotton bandages that fight...

Bioengineering the Body to Make its Own Medicine

Delivering genetic material tagged with a cellular “ZIP code” prompted cells to secrete proteins or drugs into the bloodstream that successfully treated psoriasis and cancer in mouse models....

DNA Particles That Mimic Viruses Hold Promise as Vaccines

Researchers have created a vaccine that can induce a strong antibody response against SARS-CoV-2. The vaccine, which has been tested in mice, consists of a DNA scaffold that carries...

Moving the Needle on Monitoring Skin Cancer

A research team has developed a new approach that integrates a minimally invasive, painless microneedle platform capable of absorbing the cell-surrounding, biomarker-containing fluid from deeper layers of the skin with an ultra-sensitive, single-molecule detection method (Simoa) that detects often rare, yet relevant biomarkers with higher sensitivity than conventional methods.

Human Factors in Drug Delivery

Human factors engineering helps prevent errors and contributes to the successful use of the device.

Drug-Delivery System Improves Cancer Treatment

A new hydrogel-based delivery system balances the acidic environment in a tumor and greatly enhances the cancer-fighting activity of the chemotherapeutic drug it encapsulates in lab...