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An MIT-led research team has developed a drug capsule that could be used to administer oral doses of insulin, potentially replacing the injections that people with type 2 diabetes have to make daily.
The size of a blueberry, the capsule contains a small needle compressed insulin, which is injected once the capsule has reached the stomach. When tested on animals, the researchers showed that they could deliver enough insulin to lower blood sugar levels to levels comparable to those produced by injections made through the skin. They have also demonstrated that the device can be adapted to administer other protein drugs.
"We really hope that this new type of capsule will one day help diabetic patients and perhaps anyone in need of treatment that can now be given only by injection or infusion," said Robert Langer, a professor of psychotherapy. David H. Koch Institute, member of MIT. Koch Institute for Cancer Research and one of the leading authors of the study.
Giovanni Traverso, an badistant professor at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, at Harvard Medical School, and visiting scholar at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, where he will begin as a professor in 2019, is also a senior author of the MIT. ;study. The first author of the document, which appears in the February 8 issue of ScienceAlex Abramson, a graduate student at MIT. The research team also includes scientists from the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk.
Self-referral
Several years ago, Traverso, Langer and their colleagues developed a pill covered with many small needles that can be used to inject drugs into the lining of the stomach or small intestine. For the new capsule, the researchers changed the design to no longer use only one needle, which allowed them to avoid injecting drugs inside the body. stomach, where they would be broken down by stomach acids before they have an effect.
The tip of the needle is composed of lyophilized insulin, compressed to almost 100%, according to the same process used to form drug tablets. The needle shaft, which does not penetrate the wall of the stomach, is made of another biodegradable material.
In the capsule, the needle is attached to a compressed spring held in place by a sugar disc. When the capsule is swallowed, the water in the stomach dissolves the disc of sugar, releases the spring and injects the needle into the wall of the stomach.
The wall of the stomach does not have a pain receptor. The researchers therefore think that patients could not feel the injection. To make sure that the drug is injected into the stomach wall, the researchers designed their system so that, regardless of the position of the capsule in the stomach, this one can Orient it so that the needle is in contact with the lining of the stomach.
"As soon as you take it, you want the system to correct itself in order to be able to make contact with the fabric," explains Traverso.
The researchers drew their inspiration for the autonomous orientation function in a turtle known as the leopard tortoise. This turtle, which is found in Africa, has a shell with a high and steep dome, allowing it to stand up if it rolls on its back. The researchers used computer modeling to propose a variant of this form for their capsule, which allows it to reorient itself even in the dynamic environment of the stomach.
"What's important is that the needle is in contact with the tissue at the time of injection," Abramson explains. "In addition, if a person was moving or the stomach was grumbling, the device would not move from its preferred orientation."
Once the tip of the needle is injected into the wall of the stomach, the insulin dissolves at a rate that can be controlled by the researchers during the preparation of the capsule. In this study, it took about an hour for all insulin to be completely released into the bloodstream.
Easier for patients
In tests on pigs, the researchers showed that they could successfully deliver up to 300 micrograms of insulin. More recently, they were able to increase the dose to 5 milligrams, which is comparable to the amount that a patient with type 2 diabetes should inject.
Once the capsule has released its contents, it can pbad harmlessly into the digestive system. The researchers found that the capsule, made of biodegradable polymers and stainless steels, had no adverse effects.
The MIT team continues to work with Novo Nordisk to further develop the technology and optimize the capsule manufacturing process. They believe that this type of drug delivery could be useful for any protein drug that should normally be injected, such as immunosuppressive drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease. This can also work for nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA.
"Our motivation is to make it easier for patients to take medication, especially those who need an injection," Traverso said. "The clbadic is insulin, but there are many others."
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