New hydrogel research gives new meaning to “sustained released” medication

Medical Xpress: “Researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed injectable, reformable and spreadable hydrogels which can be loaded with proteins or other therapeutics. The hydrogels contain up to 99.7% water by weight, with the remainder primarily made up of cellulose polymers held together with cucurbiturils – barrel-shaped molecules which act as miniature ‘handcuffs’….

 The hydrogels developed by Scherman, Dr Xian Jun Loh and PhD student Eric Appel are capable of delivering sustained release of the proteins they contain for up to six months, compared with the current maximum of three months. The rate of release can be controlled according to the ratio of materials in the hydrogel.” –  I think you’ll see more and more treatment with proteins in the future as we continue to advance “drug therapy”. Given that chronic conditions cause major problems for healthcare in terms of patient adherence, a system that acts as a six month reservoir offers up some serious potential.

The article referred to can be found below. Unfortunately I could only access the abstract, which was almost useless.