Researchers working at Queen Mary, University of London have made a breakthrough with a process called "Micro Shuttle" drug delivery. The new process could one day mean an end to traditional methods of delivering drugs and allow doctors to deliver medications directly inside the cells of the body.

The technique is described as a way to shrink wrap medications to be buried under the skin or inside the body. These shrink wrap micro shuttles can be loaded with doses of specific medications and then opened remotely. The new technique is particularly promising for treating conditions like diabetes.

Micro Shuttles could be loaded with insulin and could be triggered to release their contents by a drop in blood sugar or an external factor like a pulse of light. That could mean diabetics in the future could give themselves insulin using something akin to a laser pointer rather than syringes and needles.

PhD student Matthieu Bédard and Prof Gleb Sukhorukov of Queen Mary's School of Engineering and Materials Science have so far proven that the method of drug delivery works by using it to deliver a fluorescent test molecule in light activated capsules.

Matthieu Bédard said, "The main advantage of using such microcapsules is that they can be designed to be very stable inside the body, protecting their contents. This is particularly important for the many medications that are rapidly degraded or altered by the body. These capsules can be used to 'store' drugs in the body for later use."

The capsules are about two micrometers in size, making them roughly the size of bacterium. They are constructed by wrapping strands of a metabolism-resistant material around spherical particles. These spherical particles are then dissolved in acid leaving behind an empty container.

To get medications into the empty container the capsules are heated in a solution that contains the desired medication. The heating process causes the capsules to shrink and traps some of the medication solution in the process.

The capsules make their way inside live cells using a technique called electroportation that administers a tiny shock to make the cell walls permeable for the tiny capsules. The researchers say that the cells are not harmed by the process.

Prof Gleb Sukhorukov said, "This new technique could have many biological applications, including delivering DNA into cells for gene therapy. The capsules could also be filled in with magnetic particles that collect and extract miniscule samples from inside cells. Other applications could see patients needing internal medication after surgery being administered drugs without the need for further invasive procedures or hospital visits.

"However, there are still questions about how to direct the capsules to the right cells as well as finding a way to make capsules that are safe for human use. It is possible that we will see useful applications for this technology being tested in the next five years."