I wish I could inject medicine without using a painful needle. and What if you could store the drug at room temperature? Well, it turns out that MOF-Jet technology has the potential to do both.
Dating back to the 1960s, jet injectors have been used to rapidly deliver drugs through the skin without the use of hypodermic needles. However, this technique remains painful for the recipient as it involves forcing a concentrated flow of fluid through the epidermis.
A more modern and less painful alternative is a device called a “gene gun”.
Compressed gas is used to propel tungsten or gold coated microparticles of protein or other biological material through the skin and into the underlying cells. Unfortunately, not only are these metals expensive, but they can actually hasten the breakdown of biological payloads when delivered inside the body.
In search of a better alternative, scientists at the University of Texas at Dallas turned to an organometallic framework (MOF) material known as Zeolite Imidazolate Framework Eight (ZIF-8).
While much cheaper than tungsten or gold, the tiny particles of the material are just as effective at protecting biological matter when shot through the skin via a modified gene gun called the MOF-Jet. In addition, this technology can be used to inject ZIF-8-wrapped particles of powdered pharmaceuticals. It does not need to be refrigerated like needle-injected liquid medications.
As an added bonus, we have found that using different carrier gases can vary the release time of the drug. For example, carbon dioxide reacts with water inside cells to produce carbonic acid. The acid breaks down her ZIF-8, releasing the payload relatively quickly. On the other hand, using regular compressed air, it takes 4-5 days for ZIF-8 particles to decompose.
Jeremiah Gassensmith
In laboratory tests, this technique was successfully used to deliver a ZIF-8-encapsulated gene to onion cells and a ZIF-8-encapsulated protein to mice. Scientists are now using this system to deliver chemotherapeutic agents and adjuvants as potential treatments for melanoma.
No, it doesn’t hurt. According to researchers, receiving an injection of MOF-Jet will leave you feeling “like being hit by a Nerf bullet.”
Results of a study led by Assoc. Professor Jeremiah Gassensmith and his graduate student Yalini Wijesundara were recently presented at the Spring Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Source: American Chemical Society
