Shape-shifting drug delivery
Stimuli-responsive biomaterials can be useful for engineering controlled drug delivery systems. Babaee et al. designed two orally administered devices to change shape in the presence of warm water. A flower-like device could deliver drug into the upper esophagus via degradable millineedles attached to the “petals” (arms) of the device and could revert to a capsule shape to pass into the stomach in the presence of warm water. A second, flexible macrostructure could deliver large doses of drugs over 2 weeks while residing in the stomach before endoscopically delivered warm water triggered device disassembly via its thermosensitive polymer linkers. Proof-of-concept experiments in pigs reveal the potential of these thermoresponsive drug delivery systems.
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