Drug delivery

Prof. Giovanni Traverso speaks with the Nature Podcast hosts Benjamin Thompson and Emily Bates about his work developing an ingestible capsule capable of delivering drugs directly into lining of the GI tract. “Part of the work that we did was really defining how much force needs to be applied so that that jet can go through the tissue,” says Traverso. “But not only go through the initial part of the tissue, what we wanted to understand for each part of the GI tract was exactly how much pressure is required to essentially deposit some amount of drug under the surface of the tissue.” 

Using cephalopods, like squid, as inspiration, researchers from MIT, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Novo Nordisk have developed a capsule that can deliver drugs directly into the digestive track without using needles, writes Corinna Singleman for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. “The capsule design is highly adaptable and was intentionally developed to handle a wide range of drug types,” said Prof. Giovanni Traverso. 

The Economist covers new work by Prof. Giovanni Traverso and his colleagues at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Novo Nordisk, who have developed an ingestible capsule that can “get medication into patients without having to jab them at all, by copying the jet-propulsion techniques used by squid and their kin.” 

Prof. Giovanni Traverso and his colleagues have developed a new device, inspired by sea creatures, that can deliver drugs orally by using jets to “eject drugs into the tissue lining the digestive tract," reports Anil Oza for STAT. “We want to make it easier for patients to receive medication,” says Traverso. “The challenge with drugs like insulin and monoclonal antibodies is that they require an injection. That in and of itself can be a barrier for receiving that medication.” 

Prof. Michael Strano joins “Somewhere on Earth” podcast host Gareth Mitchell to discuss how he and his colleagues developed tiny batteries that could be used to power cell-sized robots. Roughly the thickness of a human hair, the new battery can create a current by capturing oxygen. “I would say we're making the LEGOs, the building blocks that go into robots,” Strano says. “We’re building the parts and it's an exciting time for the field.”

Researchers at MIT have developed tiny batteries capable of powering cell-sized robots that can “execute tasks as varied as targeting drug delivery inside the human body to checking pipelines for gas leaks,” reports Brian Heater for TechCrunch. “Despite the barely visible size, the researchers say the batteries can generate up to 1 volt, which can be used to power a sensor, circuit or even a moving actuator.”

MIT researchers have developed microneedle patches that are capable of restoring hair growth in alopecia areata patients, reports Ernie Mundell for HealthDay. The team’s approach includes a, “patch containing myriad microneedles that is applied to the scalp,” writes Mundell. “It releases drugs to reset the immune system so it stops attacking follicles.” 

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have developed a machine-learning model that can identify which drugs should not be taken together, reports Politico. “The researchers built a model to measure how intestinal tissue absorbed certain commonly used drugs,” they write. “They then trained a machine-learning algorithm based on their new data and existing drug databases, teaching the new algorithm to predict which drugs would interact with which transporter proteins.”

Institute Prof. Robert Langer speaks with Freakonomics host Stephen Dubner about his approach to failure and perseverance in his professional career. Langer recalls how despite early failures with developing new drug delivery methods, “I really believed that if we could do this, it would make a big difference in science, and I hoped a big difference in medicine.”

Researchers at MIT have developed a mobile vaccine printer capable of printing a vaccine onto a patch of microneedles that can be absorbed into the skin without injection, reports Sandra Tsing for NPR. “These printed vaccines could be used in areas that are unable to refrigerate traditional vaccines,” explains Tsing.

Researchers at MIT have developed a wearable patch that can allow drugs to pass through the skin using ultrasonic sound waves, reports Sandra Tsing for NPR. “The researchers say their lightweight design allows for reliable use on the go,” says Tsing. “This could treat skin conditions, both medical or cosmetic.” 

Principal Research Scientist Ana Jaklenec speaks with CBC host Bob McDonald about her work developing a mobile vaccine printer. The device “can be very important in certain scenarios when you’re trying to bring the ability to vaccinate in areas that might not have the right infrastructure to make vaccines or even to administer vaccines,” says Jaklenec, “so I think the portability is key here.” 

Researchers at MIT have developed a mobile printer that could create microneedle patches for mRNA vaccine delivery. “These "microneedle patches" offer a range of advantages over traditional jabs in the arm, including that they can be self-administered, are relatively painless, could be more palatable to the vaccine-hesitant and can be stored at room temperature for long periods of time,” writes Daniel Lawler for Agence France-Presse.

Research scientist Ana Jaklenec spoke with Jonathan Grinstein at Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News about a new microneedle patch printer she and her colleagues have developed that may one day enable on-demand vaccine manufacturing. “The idea was that you could, in an emergency situation, deploy some of these printers and locally vaccinate the population to prevent the global spread of infection,” says Jaklenec.

Researchers at the McGovern and Broad Institutes have developed a bacterial "nanosyringe" that can inject large proteins into specific cells in the body, which could lead to safer and more effective treatments for a variety of conditions, including cancer, reports Michael Le Page for New Scientist. “The fact that this can load a diversity of different payloads of different sizes makes it unique amongst protein delivery devices,” says graduate student Joseph Kreitz.