Miniature devices could deliver drugs directly to tumours

It is currently possible for nano-particulate drugs to be guided to a site in the body by encapsulating magnets into such delivery devices.

Sheffield University’s Dr Stephen Ebbens explained to The Engineer that drug delivery using magnetic fields requires either magnets to be located near the targeted site by implanting, which is invasive, or by applying the field externally, which involves a visit to hospital.

‘A drug-delivery system that can find its own way to the targeted site can potentially be administered as a conventional drug, without any additional intervention required,’ said Ebbens, who is leading Sheffield’s contribution to the EPSRC-funded project that involves Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin Madison in the US, in addition to Oxford University.

This, in turn, would lead to cost savings as there would be a reduced need for instrumentation, staff and patient visits to hospital.

However, the success of the system will depend on its ability to propel its way through the myriad of liquid environments encountered in the body on the way to the drug-delivery site.