Pharmacological Device Delivers Powerful Drugs Safely

A novel drug-delivery device under development could unlock the potential of photosensitive chemicals to kill drug-resistant infections, and perhaps destroy cancer tumors as well.

Researchers at the University of California (UCI; Irvine, USA) and Jiao Tong University (Shanghai, China) developed an optical fiber-based device that can deliver very small amounts of photosensitive chemicals to internal organs with pinpoint accuracy. The device consists of three components. The first, a charge-coupled device (CCD) similar to that in digital cameras; it enables a physician to guide the device to the infection. The second, a flexible optical fiber one-millimeter in diameter attached to a micro sized high-power light emitting diode (LED) or laser diode that provides the light for the CCD; once the physician positions the device, the same light source shines with greater intensity to activate the medicine.


The third component is a hollow tube connected to a syringe that delivers the medicine to the infection; glycol, a thickening agent used in surgical soaps, is added to keep the medicine from spreading to healthy cells. Pulling back the syringe creates a vacuum that sucks up any remaining chemical after the procedure. The instrument can utilize light in wavelengths varying from deep ultraviolet (UV) to infrared (IR) to induce photoreactions of the drug with the pathogen of the infected area.

The compact system utilizes much smaller quantities of drugs or radiation dose than conventional methods, eliminates the need for intravenous injection, and greatly decreases the toxic effects of drugs and irradiation to the human body including swelling, inflammation, nausea, fever, and sunlight sensitivity that can last for about 30 days. The study presenting the system was published in the January 2011 issue of the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Review of Scientific Instruments.

"We can insert the instrument through the nose, bowels, mouth, or almost any opening and direct it where we want,” said codeveloper professor of chemistry Peter Rentzepis, PhD. "It lets us deliver very small amounts of these chemicals right to an infection or tumor, then remove them before they damage healthy cells.”

Related Links:
University of California Irvine
Jiao Tong University