Targeted drug delivery systems hold great promise in biomedical clinical research and the development of novel drugs. However, achieving stable, safe, and leak-free targeted drug transport, while also obtaining precise and controllable drug administration with high drug utilization and low toxic side effects, remains a major challenge.
Recently, Professor Hongxiang Lei and his team from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Sun Yat-sen University proposed a novel targeted drug delivery system based on scanning optical tweezers, successfully addressing the aforementioned challenges. The related findings were published in "Advanced Functional Materials."
The system is specifically designed as follows: first, drug-loaded microdroplets with controllable sizes and oil-in-water core-shell structures were prepared using a simple injection squeezing method (the drug droplets are located in the core, and the drug loading is controllable). Through the use of scanning optical tweezers technology, stable capture and targeted delivery of drug-loaded microdroplets were achieved, ensuring no drug leakage or introduction of any exogenous materials or thermal damage during the targeted drug transport process. By designing different static and dynamic light traps, one or more target cells were cleverly induced into the drug-loaded microdroplets under optical forces, forming composite microdroplet structures encapsulating drug droplets and target cells. This not only protects other external cells but also provides a highly pure drug environment for the treatment of target cells, thereby achieving precise drug delivery. Rational design of the drug loading amount can also achieve quantitative drug administration, resulting in high drug utilization rates.
It is reported that the design and construction of this system combine the advantages of scanning optical tweezers technology and composite structure microdroplets, enabling controlled drug loading, non-contact, non-invasive, safe, stable, and precise targeted drug transport. It also allows for precise drug dosing, high drug utilization rates, and good therapeutic effects.
The research results can be applied to achieve precise treatment or pathological state detection at the single-cell level, aiding in the timely identification of issues in early-stage novel drug development. By leveraging the simultaneous treatment of multiple cells, treatment efficiency can be improved, potentially realizing precise treatment of small lesion areas.
For more information on the research paper, visit: https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202401905
