How can we deliver drugs to the specific locations in the body where they are most effective?
And how can we see inside the body without surgery? Researchers from the Netherlands are inspired by origami, the ancient Japanese art of folding paper. We want to combine the art of origami with innovations in material & health sciences, so we can improve the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
How can origami help? Let’s say we want to deliver drugs to a specific part of the intestines. We can 3D-print and fold an origami capsule made from edible materials. We then put the drugs inside the folds of the capsule.
The capsule is swallowed, it moves through the gastrointestinal tract and arrives at a specific part of the intestines still folded and intact. But here, the acidity of the environment changes.
This is the trigger for the origami structure to unfold. The drugs inside the folds now dissolve at the right location. Afterwards, the capsule is fully digested.
This is just one example, but there are many possibilities for treating diseases with this method. We can choose from different triggers, so we can control exactly when and where to unfold. In a specific part of the body or in response to specific cells. Our origami structures could also carry proteins or micro-electronic chips. And if we add micro sensors we could sense the gastrointestinal tract to diagnose and monitor diseases.
In the future, our research will explore even more unusual ways of solving societal health problems.
This project is supported by the Center for Unusual Collaborations. [ Ссылка ]
Designed by Liesbeth Smit, The Online Scientist
