Cancer Patch
A new method of drug delivery through the skin has been created
Maria Nedyuk, Izvestia
A new method (so in the text – VM) of taking medications was developed by scientists from Russia and Australia. The drugs are offered to be injected through the surface of the skin using microneedles placed on a patch. This technique will allow you to bypass the disadvantages of pills and injections. Researchers are already working on creating an immunomodulator patch for cancer patients. In the future, it is planned to transfer powerful painkillers, medications for patients with memory disorders and contraceptives to a new form.
Scientists of the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University together with colleagues from Griffiths University in Australia are developing an innovative transdermal method of drug delivery into the body. The need for it arose due to the fact that not all active substances can be "packed" into tablets, Yuri Anisimov, professor of the Department of Natural Sciences at Griffith University, a leading researcher at the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Sechenov University, told Izvestia.
– Drug delivery through the skin is certainly a promising direction. When taking the usual pills, they pass through the gastrointestinal tract, peripheral blood vessels and the liver before they enter the general circulatory system," Yuri Anisimov emphasized. – Some drugs, such as paracetamol, are 95% absorbed by metabolic processes. This can be avoided by delivering the drug through the skin.
The problem is that the upper stratum corneum of the human epidermis is responsible for ensuring that toxins from the external environment do not enter the body. Therefore, only substances with low molecular weight can pass through it. To circumvent this limitation, scientists propose to pierce this layer of skin with miniature needles.
The principle of operation of the new delivery method is as follows: patches with microneedles half a millimeter long are glued to the skin and the medicine is injected packed in nanocapsules (particles 10 microns in size). Then the intercellular fluid gradually removes the active substance from the subcutaneous layer into the bloodstream. The shells of the nanocapsules open within a given time, which allows you to gradually inject the drug – for example, within a week. This distinguishes this method of delivery from injections: patients do not have painful sensations, and the injections themselves do not need to be done several times a day.
A group of scientists is already working on creating an interferon-based immunomodulator in the form of such a "smart patch". The drug will be intended, in particular, for patients with oncopathology and patients with viral hepatitis.
– Usually, both cancer patients and hepatitis patients require a lot of expensive injections. Our technology will allow us to avoid this," Andrey Zvyagin, head of the Biomedical Engineering Department at the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Sechenov University, told Izvestia.
The new method of drug delivery through the skin is also promising when using strong painkillers and medications for patients with memory disorders – the patient does not need to be reminded to take pills, it will be enough to stick a patch that works for a long time. It is also planned to transfer many contraceptives to a new form.
The new method of drug delivery will definitely be in demand, Izvestia reported Maxim Abakumov, Head of the Biomedical Nanomaterials Laboratory at NUST MISIS.
– This technique is promising for the delivery of antitumor and antiviral drugs. The absolute advantages include reducing the side accumulation of drugs in the liver, as well as minimizing the discomfort of patients who occur with multiple traditional injections, - Maxim Abakumov explained. – But there are also disadvantages – limited applicability for the delivery of high-molecular hydrophilic drugs, the penetration of which through the skin is difficult, and the high cost of such patches.
A new method of drug delivery using "smart patches" will be tested on human skin obtained during cosmetic operations. Now the technique is approaching the stage of preclinical animal testing.
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