A Magnetic Bio-Inspired Soft Carrier as a Temperature-Controlled Gastrointestinal Drug Delivery System

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Gastroenterology
• Robotics

Background:

• Gastrointestinal bleeding in the colon and small bowel presents treatment challenges with current flexible, tethered endoscopes.
• Untethered devices are being explored to overcome limitations of traditional tools for lower gastrointestinal tract interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an untethered, magnetically-responsive, bio-inspired soft carrier for diagnosing and delivering drugs in the lower gastrointestinal tract.
• To address the existing literature gap in soft robotic carriers for gastrointestinal applications.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of soft carriers using a shape memory polymer (DiAPLEX MP-3510) via a molding process.
• Validation of the soft carrier design through magnetic field-induced deformation simulations.
• Assessment of the prototype carriers' thermal responsiveness ex vivo and in a large intestine phantom.

Main Results:

• Simulation results validated the carrier's deformation capabilities in response to external magnetic fields.
• Ex vivo and phantom studies demonstrated the soft carrier's feasibility for drug administration within a large intestine model.
• The carrier design enables controlled drug release by leveraging the polymer's properties and magnetic actuation.

Conclusions:

• The developed untethered, magnetically-responsive soft carrier presents a feasible approach for targeted drug delivery in the lower gastrointestinal tract.
• This technology offers a potential solution for overcoming the limitations of current endoscopic tools in diagnosing and treating gastrointestinal conditions.
• Further research is needed to fully realize the potential of soft robotic carriers in gastrointestinal diagnostics and therapeutics.