Micro and nanostructures for oral drug delivery and biosensing

Professor Anja Boisen
Nanotech, Technical University of Denmark

Micro and nanostructures for oral drug delivery and biosensing

Micrometer sized containers can be used for oral drug delivery. The hypothesis is that oral drug delivery can be improved significantly by utilizing micrometer sized containers loaded with drug(s) and sealed by intelligent lids that open at specific locations in the body. The containers will protect active pharmaceutical ingredients during the passage through the stomach and facilitate adhesion to the wall of the intestine for controlled and unidirectional release, followed by absorption through the intestine. The containers were initially fabricated in the polymer SU-8. Recently, we have also succeeded in realizing similar structures in biodegradable polymers such as PLLA. We will show our recent findings and results in the areas of; microfabrication of containers in a simple and rapid manner, loading of drugs, pH sensitive lids and in vitro/in vivo testing.

The optics and mechanics from a DVD player can be used to realize compact and sensitive sensor systems. By rotating a polymer disc with integrated microfluidic channels it is possible to manipulate liquid samples such as blood – performing crucial operations like separation, valving and mixing. We integrate sensor elements such as cantilevers, nanoparticles, resonating strings and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates with centrifugal microfluidics. The sensors are read out by a DVD pick-up head which can perform transmission/absorption measurements and which can detect nm deflections. Also, electrodes are integrated on a disc platform, facilitating electrochemical measurements. Examples of applications include rapid diagnostics, prognostics and studies of thermal properties and degradation of polymers.

Acknowledgments: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC grant agreement n° 320535 and from the Center of Excellence ’IDUN’ granted by the Danish National Research Foundation (Grant no: DNRF122) and the Velux Foundations.