Professor Mu Chiao’s lab at UBC has developed a magnetic implant that offers controlled delivery of a drug to an internal target site. The device, a silicone sponge with magnetic iron oxide particles and a polymer layer, measures just six millimetres in diameter. A drug can be injected into the device, which is then surgically implanted into the treatment area. Passing a magnet over the patient’s skin activates the device by deforming the sponge and triggering the release of the drug into surrounding tissue through a tiny opening. This offers a pathway to controlled in vivo drug delivery using biocompatible materials.
Original story UBC News.
A. Shademani et. al., Active Regulation of On‐Demand Drug Delivery by Magnetically Triggerable Microspouters, Advanced Functional Materials 2017, Vol. 27, Issue 6
