New Developments in Drug Delivery and Devices

The global pharmaceutical market, valued at1.2万亿美元预计到2023年，2018年预计将增长到1.7万亿美元。加油在药物输送方法和设备方面的进步。

Engineering developments in drug delivery often center around the best approach for productization, shelf life and application. New methods of delivery, as well as enhancements to the efficiency of the delivery method, have been developing in recent years for all market segments: Oral, nasal, rectal, injectable, IV, topical and implantable.

Oral与平板电脑，粉末和液体应用有关，它们与消化道相互作用以提供对血液的访问。压实的片剂，涂料，粉末胶囊和液体的设计应用都涉及能够定时释放药物以长期作用以及在消化轨道中的酶和酸的保护。许多患者更喜欢这种方法，发现很容易遵守。但是，当食物或其他药物处于同一路径时，该方法也可能导致缓慢的吸收。因此，患者可能会降低收益。

Inhalationcan help medications be absorbed more quickly, because they interact with a relatively large area (the lungs). Unfortunately, drug options are very limited at this point because of restrictions from the inhalation technique to the particle size of the drug.

Rectal应用还通过痔疮静脉提供了更快的吸收，但患者不愿采用这种方法。

皮下或肌内与上述方法相比，注射是将药物进入血液系统的更快方法。药物的配方通常可以提供长期的药物作用持续时间。但是，周围的组织和肌肉可能对使用相同方法的不同患者的吸收过程有一些差异。

Some patients are averse to the use of needles, which is being addressed by the development of microneedle applications like 3M’s Hollow Microstructured Transdermal System (hMTS), which are more widely accepted by self-injection applications. Microneedle application platforms are often presented an array pattern that helps with the amount of drug that absorbs over time. In addition, solid microneedle applications provide an approach to provide sensing or measurement of blood over long periods of time without ongoing finger sticks.

Intravenous仍然provides the most instantaneous access to the blood stream and has the most dependable and reproductive effects on the patient through controlled application. This is the most expensive option and requires the most supervision

Topical方法，特别是使用开发的医学级粘合剂技术或水凝胶粘合剂技术通过皮肤接触和最终吸收来传播药物的方法，是兴趣和投资的日益增加的主题。The transdermal drug delivery market, valued at$32.5 billion到2023年，2016年估计将达到617亿美元。

新技术主要集中在the transdermal method because it is noninvasive and able to provide prolonged application on the same skin area. Because most drugs have a high molecular weight and are less effective for topical skin absorption, development underway to improve that application. For instance, iontophoresis is transdermal patch with an electrical circuit providing a low voltage path through the skin to promote deeper skin penetration of the drug molecules. Usage of flexible, stretchable electrical circuits plays a key role to this technology. Merging the microneedle approach with transdermal patches and flexible circuits can provide methods to provide closed loop monitoring of blood for applications in glucose monitoring as well as the application of drugs. Infusion sets commonly use dermal patches with sensor technology through microneedle technology to provide feedback to make ongoing changes to the drug delivery possible.

在关注封闭的循环技术上，人们正在关注药物管理的反馈，正在查看皮肤斑块和微针技术是合作伙伴的位置。“智能设备”一词涉及药物输送应用，灵活的电路为微电子，灵活/可拉伸电路和可打印胶片的能力提供了更多的增长区域，低成本应用：

Implantablemethods began as devices like stents, which were coated with a drug. Now, implantable methods have evolved to where drug release as the main purpose. This has led to some of the most significant improvements in patient care, including contraceptives, hormonal therapy and treatments for eye disease, cancer, orthopedic uses and many others.

When you consider the impact these new developments in drug delivery methods and devices can have in managing and treating conditions, it’s clear that the potential for improving consumer health care is nearly unlimited.

Want to learn more about engineering drug delivery systems and medical devices? Contact Actalent now.