Light, Nanoparticles And The Future Of Smart Drug Delivery

Using tiny gold particles and infrared light, researchers have developed a drug-delivery system that allows multiple drugs to be released in a controlled fashion.  Such a system could one day be used to provide more control when battling diseases commonly treated with more than one drug, according to the researchers. Delivery devices already exist that can release two drugs, but the timing of the release must be built into the device — it cannot be controlled from outside the body. The new system is controlled externally and theoretically could deliver up to three or four drugs.  The new technique takes advantage of the fact that when gold nanoparticles are exposed to infrared light, they melt and release drug payloads attached to their surfaces.  read more

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