Work

Drug Delivery Interfaces in the 21st Century: From Science Fiction Ideas to Viable Technologies

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: Early science fiction envisioned the future of drug delivery as targeted micrometer-scale submarines and "cyborg" body parts. Here we describe the progression of the field toward technologies that are now beginning to capture aspects of this early vision. Specifically, we focus on the two most prominent types of systems in drug delivery: the intravascular micro/nano drug carriers for delivery to the site of pathology and drug-loaded implantable devices that facilitate release with the predefined kinetics or in response to a specific cue. We discuss the unmet clinical needs that inspire these designs, the physiological factors that pose difficult challenges for their realization, and viable technologies that promise robust solutions. We also offer a perspective on where drug delivery may be in the next 50 years based on expected advances in material engineering and in the context of future diagnostics.

Source: Molecular Pharmaceutics

DOI: 10.1021/mp4003283

Authors: Beata Chertok, Matthew J. Webber, Marc D. Succi, Robert Langer

Institutions: Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research At MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston Children's Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University

Language: English

Topic: Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery

Subfield: Biomaterials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green