Constant efforts are made to develop new drug delivery methods that provide enhanced release features and targeting to specific sites. To become a great candidate for medical applications, agents that deliver drugs should be both biocompatible and nontoxic. Polylactide (PLA) is proposed and demonstrated to be a great carrier for drug delivery, mainly because of its ability to be degraded.
Researchers and senior author, Dr. Andrew Dove, at the University of Warwick aimed to examine the effects of mixing two forms of nanoparticles each consisting of PLAs. Based on former studies and their hypotheses, the authors expected to observe a cylinder-shaped complex after combining each nanoparticle. Instead, they linked together to form a spherical structure, an unexpected outcome that represents a new mechanism for reorganization without external influence.
Relative to drug delivery, the transition to spherical structures would require the release of contents contained by each nanoparticle. To combine and change shape, each nanoparticle would also need to be in close proximity. This characteristic is an advantage for drug delivery because it limits the unintended release of drugs. In addition, this model has implications for the design of materials capable of controlled drug delivery. “In this way, the drug can be targeted to only release where we want it to and therefore be more effective and reduce side effects,” says Dove.
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