'Balloon' technique could lead to new drug-delivery systems

Finding new ways to deliver precise doses of drugs to specific targets is of interest to the research community and one way to do this is to create balloons embedded with nanoscale spikes that are coated with the relevant drug.

In theory, the deflated balloon could be inserted into the target area and then inflated, allowing the spikes on the balloon’s surface to pierce the surrounding cell walls and deliver the drug. The balloon could then be deflated and withdrawn.

To test this concept, researchers first needed to develop an elastic material embedded with these aligned, nanoscale needles.

‘We have now developed a way of embedding carbon nanofibres in an elastic silicone membrane and ensuring that the nanofibres are both perpendicular to the membrane’s surface and sturdy enough to impale cells,’ said Dr Anatoli Melechko, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work.