RESEARCH
Ingestible Devices for Localized GI Drug Delivery
In 2022, Levy et al. published a research article in Advanced Materials Technologies highlighting the development of a 3D-printed actuator for capsule-based localized delivery of anchoring drug deposits to the GI tract. The system uses a thin-film heating element to enable rapid actuation and is readily compatible with currently existing ingestible sensors and electronics to target treatment to afflicted sites in the GI tract. Firm drug anchoring is achieved via biomimetic barbed microneedles to enable reliable prolonged drug release at target locations in the GI tract.
Advanced Methods for Coating Ingestible Devices
In 2023, Straker et al. published a research article in Nature Microsystems and Nanoengineering highlighting a freestanding region-responsive bilayer (FRRB) packaging technology for ingestible capsules. The bilayer is composed of rigid polyethylene glycol (PEG) under a flexible pH-responsive polymer layer, which protects the contents of the capsule until it arrives in the targeted intestinal environment.
Ingestible Devices for Measuring Geaseous Biomarkers
In 2023, Stine et al. published a research article in Advanced Healthcare Materials highlighting the development of an ingestible device for measurement of Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the GI tract, a gasotransmitter and inflammatory mediator implicated in inflammatory bowel disease in. A Nafion-coated amperometric electrochemical H2S sensor was integrated with electronics in an ingestible capsule. This system can selectively detect trace concentrations of intraluminal H2S and wirelessly transmit data from a gastrointestinal (GI) environment, offering a promising tool for future in vivo monitoring platforms investigating GI inflammation.