Sam Brusco, Associate Editor08.10.22
Implants that release insulin in the body could be an alternative to treating diabetes without injections or cannula insertions. But the immune system attacks them after implantation, forming scar tissue that blocks release of insulin.
A team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers devised a method to overcome the foreign body response. In a study using mice, they demonstrated when mechanical actuation was used in a soft robotic device, it remained functional for “much longer” than a typical drug delivery implant.
The device is inflated and deflated for five minutes every 12 hours. The researchers found this deflection prevented immune cell accumulation around the device.
The researchers plan to see if the device can be used to deliver pancreatic islet cells to act as a “bioartificial pancreas.”
“We’re using this type of motion to extend the lifetime and the efficacy of these implanted reservoirs that can deliver drugs like insulin, and we think this platform can be extended beyond this application,” Ellen Roche, the Latham Family Career Development Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a member of MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, told MIT News.
The two-chambered device is built of polyurethane, a plastic with similar elasticity to the extracellular matrix surrounding tissues. One chamber is a drug reservoir, the other as a soft, inflatable actuator. An external controller stimulates the actuator to inflate and deflate on a specific schedule.
This mechanical actuation drives away neutrophils, the cells that begin the process leading to formation of scar tissue. The researchers also found in mice with the actuated implant, effective insulin delivery remained through the study’s eight weeks.
A human-sized device was also created that measures 120 mm by 80 mm and showed it could be implanted successfully in a human cadaver’s abdomen. The researchers plan to adapt the implant so it could be used to deliver stem-cell-derived pancreatic cells that would sense glucose levels and secrete insulin when glucose is too high.
Other possible areas the researchers explored for this type of device are immunotherapy delivery to treat ovarian cancer, or delivering drugs to the heart to prevent heart failure in those who have experienced heart attacks.
“You can imagine that we can apply this technology to anything that is hindered by a foreign body response or fibrous capsule, and have a long-term effect,” Roche said. “I think any sort of implantable drug delivery device could benefit.”
A team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers devised a method to overcome the foreign body response. In a study using mice, they demonstrated when mechanical actuation was used in a soft robotic device, it remained functional for “much longer” than a typical drug delivery implant.
The device is inflated and deflated for five minutes every 12 hours. The researchers found this deflection prevented immune cell accumulation around the device.
The researchers plan to see if the device can be used to deliver pancreatic islet cells to act as a “bioartificial pancreas.”
“We’re using this type of motion to extend the lifetime and the efficacy of these implanted reservoirs that can deliver drugs like insulin, and we think this platform can be extended beyond this application,” Ellen Roche, the Latham Family Career Development Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a member of MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, told MIT News.
The two-chambered device is built of polyurethane, a plastic with similar elasticity to the extracellular matrix surrounding tissues. One chamber is a drug reservoir, the other as a soft, inflatable actuator. An external controller stimulates the actuator to inflate and deflate on a specific schedule.
This mechanical actuation drives away neutrophils, the cells that begin the process leading to formation of scar tissue. The researchers also found in mice with the actuated implant, effective insulin delivery remained through the study’s eight weeks.
A human-sized device was also created that measures 120 mm by 80 mm and showed it could be implanted successfully in a human cadaver’s abdomen. The researchers plan to adapt the implant so it could be used to deliver stem-cell-derived pancreatic cells that would sense glucose levels and secrete insulin when glucose is too high.
Other possible areas the researchers explored for this type of device are immunotherapy delivery to treat ovarian cancer, or delivering drugs to the heart to prevent heart failure in those who have experienced heart attacks.
“You can imagine that we can apply this technology to anything that is hindered by a foreign body response or fibrous capsule, and have a long-term effect,” Roche said. “I think any sort of implantable drug delivery device could benefit.”