Relevant data show that since insulin was first used in clinical treatment in 1922, peptide drugs have undergone a century of scientific and technological exploration, and the global peptide drug market has reached nearly 1000 billion US dollars. In recent years, new drugs such as peptides, mRNA, and monoclonal antibodies have been developed to treat various incurable diseases. Although the above-mentioned biomacromolecular drugs play an important role in the treatment of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, viral infections and other diseases, the oral delivery of peptides and other drugs still faces multiple challenges, such as drug instability in the digestive tract, low bioavailability, and liver first-pass effect.
Recently, the research team of Luo Zhi, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology, was inspired by the structure of the octopus tentacle suction cup and developed a bionic suction cup patch for delivering peptide drugs through 3D printing. The patch significantly facilitates the transmembrane absorption of the drug by mechanically stretching the oral mucosa in combination with a permeation enhancer. The research results were published in Science Translational Medicine.
Mimics the structure of an octopus suction cup for efficient drug delivery
"The sliding properties of the oral mucosal surface make it difficult for many carriers designed for oral delivery to attach effectively." Luo Zhi introduced that the octopus tentacle suction cup can achieve stable attachment on various surfaces, so the team decided to try to imitate the structure and mechanism of the octopus suction cup and design a drug delivery patch that can effectively attach to the oral mucosa.
Based on this, Luo Zhi's team used 3D printing technology to develop a non-invasive oral drug delivery device, which mimics the three-dimensional structure and muscle arrangement of an octopus suction cup to achieve gentle and effective adhesion and stretching to the oral mucosa, efficiently diffuse the drug into highly vascularized mucosal tissues, and promote its entry into the systemic circulation. Luo Zhi said that this biomimetic innovation will not only help improve the efficiency and convenience of drug delivery, but is also expected to be further applied in the biomedical field.
The reporter learned that at present, there are a number of scientific research teams at home and abroad to try to use various mechanical methods to promote the absorption of oral drugs in the gastrointestinal tract, and the main methods used are magnetic particles, micro-nano intelligent devices, microneedle devices and expandable hydrogels. Luo Zhi introduced that the synthesis process of magnetic particles is complex and the cost is high; Smart devices and microneedling devices are difficult to mass produce using traditional manufacturing methods, and may cause potential damage to the gastrointestinal mucosa, so safety needs to be further observed.
After a series of rigorous experimental validations, including a preclinical study on a large animal model (beagle dogs) and 40 healthy human trial participants, the research team confirmed that the biomimetic suction cup patch has a significant effect in improving the bioavailability of the drug. For example, in an experimental study in beagle dogs, the biomimetic suction cup patch achieved a significant increase in the bioavailability of desmopressin, a peptide drug with an oral bioavailability of only 0.1%, compared to the commercial tablet form.
It has broad prospects in the field of macromolecular pharmaceutical preparations
Oral patches help to improve patient compliance due to their non-invasive nature and ease of use. Especially for children and patients with needle-phobia, this novel delivery modality may greatly improve their acceptance of treatment.
For example, Luo Zhi said: "Allowing children to take drugs such as growth hormone using patches instead of daily injections can significantly improve treatment compliance and treatment effectiveness." ”
"The bionic suction cup patch is stable and simple to use, and its stability reduces the risk of the patch falling off, while avoiding the pain and inconvenience caused by injection, it can also avoid the restriction that some oral peptide drugs cannot be eaten within half an hour after taking it on an empty stomach." "In human trials, most participants said they preferred to use this patch as a routine and periodic method of administration compared to traditional injection methods. ”
It is also reported that in addition to peptide and protein drugs, biomimetic suction cup patches can also be used for the delivery of other types of drugs or bioactive ingredients, especially for substances that are difficult to effectively deliver through traditional oral or injection routes due to molecular size or other bioavailability issues. (Science and Technology Daily reporter Luo Yunpeng)