Tejal Desai and researchers at University of California, San Francisco describe current nano- and microfabrication techniques for creating drug delivery devices. They first review the main physiological barriers to delivering therapeutic agents. Then, they describe how novel fabrication methods can be utilized to combine many features into a single physiologically relevant device to overcome drug delivery challenges.
The barrier function of the epithelia has important implications for drug delivery. Epithelial tissues compartmentalize the body into cavities and are composed of specialized cells that are sealed together by tight junction proteins in the intercellular space. The paracellular pathway around the cells is one of the main routes for drug diffusion. However, the tight junction pores are small and are approximately 0.5–2 nm, while the hydrodynamic volumes of conventional therapeutics range from few to several hundred nanometers. Therefore, the tight junctions are a major barrier to drug delivery, particularly for large molecular weight therapeutics. In order to deliver large molecules systemically, hypodermic needle injections are administered which have several disadvantages including: low patient compliance, accidental needle-sticks, and the associated medical personnel costs.
There was a 30 slide presentation. I saw a version of this talk at the Foresight Nanotech Technical conference.
New Device Architectures:
– containing both therapeutic payloads and biophysical cues
– that can gain access to biological barriers
– combine affinity
- based + size and shape + surface properties
• Enable our ability:
– to time the release multiple drugs
– to deliver in a controlled manner
– to house engineered cellular "factories"
– To facilitate tissue integration and bioadhesion
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The barrier function of the epithelia has important implications for drug delivery. Epithelial tissues compartmentalize the body into cavities and are composed of specialized cells that are sealed together by tight junction proteins in the intercellular space. The paracellular pathway around the cells is one of the main routes for drug diffusion. However, the tight junction pores are small and are approximately 0.5–2 nm, while the hydrodynamic volumes of conventional therapeutics range from few to several hundred nanometers. Therefore, the tight junctions are a major barrier to drug delivery, particularly for large molecular weight therapeutics. In order to deliver large molecules systemically, hypodermic needle injections are administered which have several disadvantages including: low patient compliance, accidental needle-sticks, and the associated medical personnel costs.
There was a 30 slide presentation. I saw a version of this talk at the Foresight Nanotech Technical conference.
New Device Architectures:
– containing both therapeutic payloads and biophysical cues
– that can gain access to biological barriers
– combine affinity
- based + size and shape + surface properties
• Enable our ability:
– to time the release multiple drugs
– to deliver in a controlled manner
– to house engineered cellular "factories"
– To facilitate tissue integration and bioadhesion
Read more »
