The research published in the August edition of Acta Materialia details how MMBG was combined with Fe
3O
4to create a best of both worlds drug delivery device.
In doing so the researchers have created a tool that can be loaded with almost any drug and systematically delivered to a specific area of the body.
MMBG contains numerous pore spaces that can be filled by dissolved or liquid therapeutics. Loading is achieved by simply immersing the glass into a liquid containing the therapeutic.
The absence of a complex attachment between the delivery mechanism and the drug is what gives the device its versatility and subsequent appeal to pharmaceutical companies.
However, until now there has not been a system in place to facilitate the delivery of a therapeutic specifically to an affected area in this type of material.
The incorporation of superparamagnetic Fe
3O
4nanoparticles, which respond far more to magnetic fields than their non-superpara siblings, raises the possibility of guiding the therapeutic to the affected area.
Unfortunately this system does not have a signaled release system built in and consequently some of the therapeutic will dissolve in the bloodstream prior to reaching the target site.
This is clearly a less effective system than some of the highly targeted mechanisms that have been developed but it has the big advantage of being able to deliver a wide spectrum of therapeutics.
There is also the possibility to customise the rate of therapeutic release and the level of drug loading by altering the size and morphology of the pores.
Upon delivery of the payload the glass delivery device decomposes to a form of hydroxy apatite.
This is regarded by the body's defense mechanisms as being bone and consequently it is dispatched through the same mechanisms which remove chips of bone from the bloodstream. The rate that the glass is decomposed is dependent upon the pore size.
In addition the nanoparticles should be easily removed from the body as it has mechanisms in place for the removal of iron oxides.
