Do you hate to swallow pills? If you can remember back to when you were a kid and you had to take pills rather than your liquid medicine, or if you are an individual who has to take multiple pills each day, you probably can appreciate how beneficial it would be to have your medication combined and delivered on a dissolvable strip or patch.
Thanks to an interdisciplinary team at the University of Michigan this technology is here.
A new study published in the journal Nature Communications authored by Max Shtein and Olga Shalev in the materials science and engineering department along with colleagues in the College of Pharmacy and Department of Physics, demonstrates how this can be done.
Apparently, one of the largest challenges in developing pharmaceuticals is solubility- how to get the medication to dissolve in a patient’s body.
The technology of Organic Vapor Jet printing which has its origin in electronics manufacturing allows a crystalline structure to be printed over a large surface area which allows the material to dissolve more easily.
Eventually, they hope this technology is available at retail pharmacies and hospitals, but for now it will likely be used in university and pharmaceutical labs where it could assist in the development of new medications.
Either way, a tremendous innovation.
For more information, please read Gabe Cherry’s article from Michigan News at the University of Michigan.
Questions for Discussion:
- Why would it be beneficial to have multiple medications available in a single dose?
- What is solubility and why is it so important in delivering medication?
- How does Organic Vapor Jet printing work?
- Why does a larger surface area help a material dissolve?
- What are some of the drawbacks or limitations of using Organic Vapor Jet printing for pharmaceuticals?
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