A new drug delivery device, inspired by the jet propulsion systems of cephalopods like squids, promises to revolutionize the way drugs are administered, eliminating the need for needles, STAT and the Economist report.
Researchers have developed a blueberry-sized device that can be swallowed and used to deliver medications directly into the tissue lining the digestive tract. This breakthrough aims to combine the convenience of oral drug delivery with the efficiency of injections, offering an alternative to needles, which have been the standard for drug delivery for centuries.
Currently, biologic drugs such as insulin and monoclonal antibodies require injections because they are too large to be absorbed effectively through the digestive system. However, many patients experience discomfort or anxiety with needles, leading to non-compliance with treatment regimens. The new device, created by a team of bioengineers led by Giovanni Traverso at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, uses high-pressure jets to propel drugs into the submucosal layer of the digestive tract, where they are absorbed into the bloodstream.
The inspiration for the device came from cephalopods, such as cuttlefish and squids, which use specialized organs to eject ink and propel themselves through water. Traverso and his team designed two versions of the device: one that can be swallowed like a pill and another tethered version aimed at targeting specific areas in the body. Both versions rely on jets to deliver drugs efficiently into various parts of the digestive tract, bypassing the need for perfect angle alignment that traditional injections require.
In tests conducted on pigs, the device successfully delivered drugs such as GLP-1 (a hormone that regulates blood sugar) and small interfering RNA, with more than 10% of the drug becoming bioavailable—significantly higher than current oral delivery methods. While promising, the researchers emphasize that more studies are needed to determine the device’s potential for broader drug types and its effectiveness in human trials.
The development of this technology has the potential to transform how drugs are administered, especially for patients who need regular injections. For example, individuals with diabetes, who must administer insulin multiple times a day, could benefit greatly from a needle-free delivery system. In addition to diabetes, the technology could also be applied to other treatments, including vaccines and biologic therapies.
However, further research is necessary to understand the long-term effects of using such a device over time. Questions remain about its performance in human trials and how well it might work for chronic conditions that require extended use of the technology. Despite these uncertainties, experts in the field, such as Samir Mitragotri, a bioengineer at Harvard University, see this as a promising new avenue of research that could open doors to innovative treatments and improve patient adherence to necessary medications.
