3D printed magnetic pills promise targeted cancer treatment

Working with a team at the The University of Texas at Austin the group from University’s School of Life sciences has used 3D printing technology and magnetic actuation to prove the concept of a drug release triggered by magnetic fields capable of inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells in vitro.

While the research is in its initial phases, the researchers are working towards a system where it is possible to drive the drug delivery system towards the required position in the body using external means such as permanent magnets.

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Targeted delivery of drugs could help eliminate harmful side effects caused by treatments like chemotherapy which damage neighbouring healthy cells, and also help clinicians optimise the dosage of drugs.

In a  study on the work published in the August edition of Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, the group describes how it designed and built a  magnetically triggerable device composed of a magnetic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sponge cylinder and a 3D printed reservoir containing the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil.