'Smart cartilage' detects abnormalities in the body and releases drugs
A Cambridge University research team has developed a material that detects subtle changes in the body's pH and releases drugs accordingly, potentially leading to the development of 'smart cartilage' that can detect and immediately relieve pain caused by arthritis.
Kinetic Locking of pH-Sensitive Complexes for Mechanically Responsive Polymer Networks | Journal of the American Chemical Society
Squishy 'smart cartilage' could target arthritis pain as soon as flareups begin
Tumors and inflamed joints in the body cause slight changes in pH. This fact caught the attention of Stephen O'Neill and his colleagues at the University of Cambridge, who thought that if they could develop a material that reacts to pH changes, they could create a system that uses these changes as a stimulus to release drugs.
O'Neill and his colleagues used the interaction between a 'host' molecule that captures a specific molecule and a 'guest' molecule that fits into that host molecule to determine the extent to which this combination binds or dissociates depending on external factors. By doing so, they succeeded in developing a material that binds for a long time when the body's pH is within a certain range and dissociates when the pH is within a different range.
The material developed by O'Neill and his colleagues, using polymer gels, is normally static, but when the acidity increases, it softens and becomes jelly-like, promoting the release of drug molecules encapsulated inside. Because the material is designed to react only within a narrow pH range, it can release drugs precisely where and when needed, potentially reducing side effects.
'This technology could potentially be applied to create artificial cartilage that detects inflammation in the body and releases drugs accordingly. According to one of the research team, they had long been interested in applying this material to joints because it can mimic the properties of cartilage. The discovery that this material can also release drugs in this study has further fueled their excitement,' they said.
'This material could sense when something is wrong in the body and deliver therapeutic drugs where needed, potentially reducing the need for repeated drug administration and improving patients' quality of life,' O'Neill said.
'Theoretically, it would be possible to incorporate both fast-acting and slow-acting drugs into the material, allowing for continuous therapy over days, weeks, or even months,' O'Neill and his colleagues say. The researchers aim to test the material in biological systems to assess its performance and safety in real-world environments.
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