A team of scientists led by Dr. Yamin Chan and Colin Franz, M.D., of the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, and Dr. John Rogers of Northwestern University, have developed a new technology that could change the future of drug delivery.
The developed device represents the first implantable drug delivery system triggered by external light sources of different wavelengths rather than electronics. It is also the first to be absorbed by the body (avoiding surgical extraction) while allowing active control and programming by the operator (doctor, nurse, patient, etc.). A study highlighting this device was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
“This technology is a breakthrough in addressing the current shortage of drug delivery systems and could have a significant and far-reaching impact on everything from the opioid epidemic to how cancer treatments are precisely delivered.” Yes, Ryan Ability Lab.
Current implantable drug delivery systems are used to treat medical conditions ranging from chronic pain and muscle spasms to cancer and diabetes. Passive systems allow for sustained drug release and do not require extraction at the end of use, but cannot be actively controlled by the user (e.g., turn drug delivery off, up, or down). Conversely, an active system that allows programmable drug release would require a power source and electronic components, eventually requiring him to undergo a second surgery to retrieve the device.
To test this new technique, researchers surgically implanted it into the right sciatic nerve of individual rats. Each device contained three drug reservoirs filled with lidocaine, a common neuralgia blocker. Three LEDs were then placed at the implantation site to trigger drug release. Subsequent testing showed significant pain relief among rats. In addition, researchers were able to achieve different patterns of pain relief depending on the color and light sequence of the LEDs.
“We found this approach to be an effective, safe and non-addictive alternative to systemically administered analgesics,” said Dr. John Rogers of Northwestern University. We used a combination of three LEDs in our proof-of-concept test, but now we can increase that to up to 30 different LED wavelengths, giving us more programs to help reduce pain.”
In future studies, the scientific team will review various safety factors before seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for human clinical trials.
“This technology has many promising implications for rehabilitation medicine and other fields. Collaboration between the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab and Northwestern University physicians, materials scientists and biomedical engineers will make it clinically relevant. Discovery is accelerating rapidly,” says Franz, who is also an assistant professor. He holds a PhD in Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation and Neurology from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Original: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and Northwestern University Invent Self-Powered Drug Delivery System
Than: Shirley Ryan Northwestern University
