Drugs could be released into the body exactly where needed using a highly targeted ultrasound beam, according to a new search that could revolutionize how medications are administered.
Current methods of administering drugs - whether it's swallowed, injected, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin - mean that it ultimately diffuses to most parts of the body, including those where it isn't needed or could even cause harm.
It's hoped that targeting the drug to exactly the right spot would allow the total dose needed to be dramatically lower, minimizing adverse side effects.
The futuristic new technology works by encasing the medication in nanocarriers - microscopic droplets, between 470 and 550 nanometers across, with a hollow outer shell composed of polymer molecules. When injected into the body, the nanocarriers act as a protective layer around the medication, forming a barrier against the immune system.
Then, an ultrasound beam which can be steered across three dimensions is focused on a desired area within the body that is only a few millimeters across. The drug then diffuses out to the organs, tissues, or cells where it is required.
"We developed a method to produce stable nanocarriers repeatably and identified ultrasound parameters that can activate them," University of Utah research assistant Matthew G. Wilson said. It has been successfully tested on a single macaque monkey by the University of Utah research team after being developed in the laboratory, with no negative side effects found after six doses.
The US research team used the anesthetic Propofol for testing but believes, many drugs would prove similarly safe and effective. "The method we developed can be applied to any of a variety of conditions depending on the drug used," the study's senior author, University of Utah's Assistant Professor Dr Jan Kubanek, said. "For psychiatric applications, localized delivery of propofol could be used as a diagnostic tool to identify brain regions causally involved in disorders for individual patients. "For more lasting treatment, ketamine delivery could be a potent method to rewire neural circuits."
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