New methods of drug delivery

Article Abstract:

Techniques that are currently used to deliver drugs include pills, ointments, and intravenous solutions. However, a number of new and different ways to deliver drugs have been developed. These new drug delivery systems are important because they can improve the safety and effectiveness of drugs, and in some cases even allow for new types of treatment. New kinds of drugs are being developed through genetic engineering which are complicated and require innovative delivery methods. Research has shown that if certain drugs are released intermittently, they are more effective than if released continually. The new methods for delivering drugs are discussed. Drugs can be chemically modified, changing various properties such as where the drug gets distributed in the body, including the targeting of drugs for a particular site or type of cell in the body. Other drug properties that can be changed are: the pharmacokinetics, or action, of the drugs; the solubility; and the antigenicity (if it is recognized by the immune system as foreign). Drugs can be inserted into small vesicles that are injected into the blood stream, allowing higher concentrations of the drug to be delivered to the sites where they are needed. Drugs can also be inserted into pumps or polymeric materials that degrade slowly over time, which controls the release of the drugs. The pumps or polymeric materials are placed directly into areas of the body, such as the eye or under the skin, where the drugs will have greater effects. These types of delivery systems allow drugs to be delivered for long periods of time. Such developments will continue to change the way drugs are delivered and will improve the health of individuals. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Innovations, Product development, Liposomes, Membranes (Technology), Drug delivery devices, Drug dispensing, Pharmaceutical technology

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Identification of an inhibitor of neovascularization from cartilage

Article Abstract:

Angiogenesis is the development of new blood vessels. In some cases, such as in embryonic development and the healing of wounds, it is completely normal. However, angiogenesis has its dark side in the development of blood vessels within inappropriate tissues, the most obvious being the new blood vessels that feed the growth and development of tumors. It might therefore be beneficial to identify natural inhibitors of blood vessel development at work in normal tissues that generally are not greatly invested with circulation, such as cartilage. Now, investigators have identified just such a compound in extracts of cartilage. The isolated protein, called cartilage-derived inhibitor, or CDI, has a molecular weight estimated to be 27,650. The protein inhibits the growth of endothelial cells (which make up the lining of blood vessels) in culture, which is suggestive of the sort of properties one would expect of an angiogenesis inhibitor. The more definitive test, however, is the direct observation of the inhibition of blood vessel development in fertile eggs. The tiny embryo can be removed from the egg and grown for days in tissue culture. Under normal conditions, new blood vessels permeate the membranes that would ordinarily be receiving nutrients from the yolk. When CDI is added, however, the development of these new blood vessels is inhibited, and some areas of the membrane receive no blood vessels at all. The investigators hope that their identification of this molecule will clarify the mechanisms of development of new blood vessels, with possible applications in both healing processes where they are wanted, and cancerous processes, where they are not. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Physiological aspects, Growth, Blood vessels, Capillaries, Cartilage

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Stand and deliver: getting peptide drugs into the body

Article Abstract:

Drug delivery systems are a major research challenge for the biotechnology industry. Most biotech drugs are proteins or large peptides that require direct injection into the bloodstream. Drug delivery research is focusing on oral, respiratory and transdermal delivery methods.

Research

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