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with 6 arms that can be folded
and encased in a capsule.
Photo by Melanie Gonick/MIT
A new device can provide long-term, controlled drug release, according to research published in Science Translational Medicine.
Researchers tested this device—a 6-armed structure encased in a capsule—by loading it with ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug that disrupts malaria transmission by killing infected mosquitoes.
When administered to pigs, the device safely stayed in the stomach, slowly releasing ivermectin for up to 14 days.
Researchers believe this type of lasting drug delivery could help bolster the success of malaria elimination campaigns, which rely on treatment adherence and cost-effective approaches that reach large, rural populations.
The team also believes this device could be used to treat a range of other diseases, particularly those in which treatment adherence may be an issue.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to take their medications over a sustained period of time,” said study author C. Giovanni Traverso, MB, BChir, PhD, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge.
“When patients have to remember to take a drug every day or multiple times a day, we start to see less and less adherence to the regimen. Being able to swallow a capsule once a week or once a month could change the way we think about delivering medications.”
This research has led to the launch of Lyndra, a company that is developing this technology with a focus on diseases for which patients would benefit the most from sustained drug delivery. This includes neuropsychiatric disorders, HIV, diabetes, and epilepsy.
Designing, testing the device
To provide long-term drug delivery, the researchers designed a star-shaped device with 6 arms that can be folded inward and encased in a smooth capsule.
Drug molecules are loaded into the arms, which are made of a rigid polymer called polycaprolactone. Each arm is attached to a rubber-like core by a linker that is designed to eventually break down.
After the capsule is swallowed, stomach acid dissolves the outer layer, allowing the 6-armed device to unfold.
Once the device expands, it is large enough to stay in the stomach and resist the forces that would normally push an object further down the digestive tract. However, it is not large enough to cause any harmful blockage of the digestive tract.
The drug is gradually released over a period of several days. After that, the linkers that join the arms to the core of the device dissolve, allowing the arms to break off. The pieces are small enough that they can pass harmlessly through the digestive tract.
In pigs, the device slowly released ivermectin for up to 14 days without causing injury to the stomach or obstructing the passage of food, before breaking apart and passing safely out of the body.
Modeling the impact
The researchers used mathematical modeling to predict the potential impact of this drug delivery method.
The data suggested that if the device were used to deliver ivermectin, it could increase the efficacy of mass drug administration campaigns designed to fight malaria.
“What we showed is that we stand to significantly amplify the effect of those campaigns,” Dr Traverso said. “The introduction of this kind of system could have a substantial impact on the fight against malaria and transform clinical care in general by ensuring patients receive their medication.”
Potential applications
“Until now, oral drugs would almost never last for more than a day,” said study author Robert Langer, ScD, of MIT.
“This really opens the door to ultra-long-lasting oral systems, which could have an effect on all kinds of diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or mental health disorders. There are a lot of exciting things this could someday enable.”
“This is a platform into which you can incorporate any drug,” added Mousa Jafari, PhD, of MIT. “This can be used with any drug that requires frequent dosing. We can replace that dosing with a single administration.”
This type of delivery could also help researchers run better clinical trials by making it easier for patients to take the drugs, said Shiyi Zhang, PhD, of MIT.
“It may help doctors and the pharma industry to better evaluate the efficacy of certain drugs because, currently, a lot of patients in clinical trials have serious medication adherence problems that will mislead the clinical studies,” he said. 
with 6 arms that can be folded
and encased in a capsule.
Photo by Melanie Gonick/MIT
A new device can provide long-term, controlled drug release, according to research published in Science Translational Medicine.
Researchers tested this device—a 6-armed structure encased in a capsule—by loading it with ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug that disrupts malaria transmission by killing infected mosquitoes.
When administered to pigs, the device safely stayed in the stomach, slowly releasing ivermectin for up to 14 days.
Researchers believe this type of lasting drug delivery could help bolster the success of malaria elimination campaigns, which rely on treatment adherence and cost-effective approaches that reach large, rural populations.
The team also believes this device could be used to treat a range of other diseases, particularly those in which treatment adherence may be an issue.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to take their medications over a sustained period of time,” said study author C. Giovanni Traverso, MB, BChir, PhD, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge.
“When patients have to remember to take a drug every day or multiple times a day, we start to see less and less adherence to the regimen. Being able to swallow a capsule once a week or once a month could change the way we think about delivering medications.”
This research has led to the launch of Lyndra, a company that is developing this technology with a focus on diseases for which patients would benefit the most from sustained drug delivery. This includes neuropsychiatric disorders, HIV, diabetes, and epilepsy.
Designing, testing the device
To provide long-term drug delivery, the researchers designed a star-shaped device with 6 arms that can be folded inward and encased in a smooth capsule.
Drug molecules are loaded into the arms, which are made of a rigid polymer called polycaprolactone. Each arm is attached to a rubber-like core by a linker that is designed to eventually break down.
After the capsule is swallowed, stomach acid dissolves the outer layer, allowing the 6-armed device to unfold.
Once the device expands, it is large enough to stay in the stomach and resist the forces that would normally push an object further down the digestive tract. However, it is not large enough to cause any harmful blockage of the digestive tract.
The drug is gradually released over a period of several days. After that, the linkers that join the arms to the core of the device dissolve, allowing the arms to break off. The pieces are small enough that they can pass harmlessly through the digestive tract.
In pigs, the device slowly released ivermectin for up to 14 days without causing injury to the stomach or obstructing the passage of food, before breaking apart and passing safely out of the body.
Modeling the impact
The researchers used mathematical modeling to predict the potential impact of this drug delivery method.
The data suggested that if the device were used to deliver ivermectin, it could increase the efficacy of mass drug administration campaigns designed to fight malaria.
“What we showed is that we stand to significantly amplify the effect of those campaigns,” Dr Traverso said. “The introduction of this kind of system could have a substantial impact on the fight against malaria and transform clinical care in general by ensuring patients receive their medication.”
Potential applications
“Until now, oral drugs would almost never last for more than a day,” said study author Robert Langer, ScD, of MIT.
“This really opens the door to ultra-long-lasting oral systems, which could have an effect on all kinds of diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or mental health disorders. There are a lot of exciting things this could someday enable.”
“This is a platform into which you can incorporate any drug,” added Mousa Jafari, PhD, of MIT. “This can be used with any drug that requires frequent dosing. We can replace that dosing with a single administration.”
This type of delivery could also help researchers run better clinical trials by making it easier for patients to take the drugs, said Shiyi Zhang, PhD, of MIT.
“It may help doctors and the pharma industry to better evaluate the efficacy of certain drugs because, currently, a lot of patients in clinical trials have serious medication adherence problems that will mislead the clinical studies,” he said.
with 6 arms that can be folded
and encased in a capsule.
Photo by Melanie Gonick/MIT
A new device can provide long-term, controlled drug release, according to research published in Science Translational Medicine.
Researchers tested this device—a 6-armed structure encased in a capsule—by loading it with ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug that disrupts malaria transmission by killing infected mosquitoes.
When administered to pigs, the device safely stayed in the stomach, slowly releasing ivermectin for up to 14 days.
Researchers believe this type of lasting drug delivery could help bolster the success of malaria elimination campaigns, which rely on treatment adherence and cost-effective approaches that reach large, rural populations.
The team also believes this device could be used to treat a range of other diseases, particularly those in which treatment adherence may be an issue.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to take their medications over a sustained period of time,” said study author C. Giovanni Traverso, MB, BChir, PhD, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge.
“When patients have to remember to take a drug every day or multiple times a day, we start to see less and less adherence to the regimen. Being able to swallow a capsule once a week or once a month could change the way we think about delivering medications.”
This research has led to the launch of Lyndra, a company that is developing this technology with a focus on diseases for which patients would benefit the most from sustained drug delivery. This includes neuropsychiatric disorders, HIV, diabetes, and epilepsy.
Designing, testing the device
To provide long-term drug delivery, the researchers designed a star-shaped device with 6 arms that can be folded inward and encased in a smooth capsule.
Drug molecules are loaded into the arms, which are made of a rigid polymer called polycaprolactone. Each arm is attached to a rubber-like core by a linker that is designed to eventually break down.
After the capsule is swallowed, stomach acid dissolves the outer layer, allowing the 6-armed device to unfold.
Once the device expands, it is large enough to stay in the stomach and resist the forces that would normally push an object further down the digestive tract. However, it is not large enough to cause any harmful blockage of the digestive tract.
The drug is gradually released over a period of several days. After that, the linkers that join the arms to the core of the device dissolve, allowing the arms to break off. The pieces are small enough that they can pass harmlessly through the digestive tract.
In pigs, the device slowly released ivermectin for up to 14 days without causing injury to the stomach or obstructing the passage of food, before breaking apart and passing safely out of the body.
Modeling the impact
The researchers used mathematical modeling to predict the potential impact of this drug delivery method.
The data suggested that if the device were used to deliver ivermectin, it could increase the efficacy of mass drug administration campaigns designed to fight malaria.
“What we showed is that we stand to significantly amplify the effect of those campaigns,” Dr Traverso said. “The introduction of this kind of system could have a substantial impact on the fight against malaria and transform clinical care in general by ensuring patients receive their medication.”
Potential applications
“Until now, oral drugs would almost never last for more than a day,” said study author Robert Langer, ScD, of MIT.
“This really opens the door to ultra-long-lasting oral systems, which could have an effect on all kinds of diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or mental health disorders. There are a lot of exciting things this could someday enable.”
“This is a platform into which you can incorporate any drug,” added Mousa Jafari, PhD, of MIT. “This can be used with any drug that requires frequent dosing. We can replace that dosing with a single administration.”
This type of delivery could also help researchers run better clinical trials by making it easier for patients to take the drugs, said Shiyi Zhang, PhD, of MIT.
“It may help doctors and the pharma industry to better evaluate the efficacy of certain drugs because, currently, a lot of patients in clinical trials have serious medication adherence problems that will mislead the clinical studies,” he said.