AsianScientist (Sep. 3, 2018) – A research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea has developed a flexible drug delivery device. They published their findings in Nano Energy.
Theranostics—a combination of the terms ‘therapeutics’ and ‘diagnostics’—is an emerging medical concept that relies on devices capable of both treatment and monitoring. Such devices include smart contact lenses and microneedle patches integrated with physiological data sensors and drug delivery devices.
In this study, researchers led by Professors Kim Daesoo and Lee Keon Jae at KAIST fabricated a device consisting of a substrate onto which a 50 µm-thick active drug delivery layer was transferred. They used a method called called inorganic laser lift off to apply the drug delivery layer. The fabricated device was mechanically flexible while maintaining its capability to administer exact dosages of drugs at desired times.
The flexible drug delivery system can be applied to smart contact lenses or implanted inside the body. A wireless power transfer system was also built into the device to allow continuous and stable operation over prolonged periods of time.
The researchers further demonstrated that their device could be placed on the curved cerebral cortices of mice brains. They were able to dispense an anti-epileptic medication via the device to the appropriate brain regions.
Lee believes that the flexible microdevice will further expand the applications of smart contact lenses, pave the way for novel treatments of brain disease and make theranostic subcutaneous implants possible.
The article can be found at: Sung et al. (2018) Flexible Wireless Powered Drug Delivery System for Targeted Administration on Cerebral Cortex.
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Source: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
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