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Jordan University of Science and Technology
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ARTICLE #2 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bright future for new drug delivery system intended to minimize side effects
Journal of the American Chemical Society

In an advance toward the long-sought ability to deliver medication directly to diseased tissue, while minimizing side effects and damage to healthy parts of the body, scientists are reporting development of a new dosing system that is controlled by light. The study is scheduled for the August 15 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly journal.

Colin P. McCoy and colleagues in Northern Ireland describe their new molecular-scale dosing devices as a new paradigm for precise control of drug dosing using light. The devices consist of medications that are combined with certain chemical compounds that respond to light in ways that release precisely controlled amounts of the drug. Drug release begins when light falls on the compounds, and lasts only as long as the light continues to shine.

The study reports successful laboratory tests of the system in the controlled release of three common medications used to treat pain and inflammation aspirin, ibuprofen and ketoprofen. One potential use cited in the study would be in the treatment of urinary catheter infections, where the drug is held latently in the catheter, and is released when needed. The system could be applied for other conditions using an implant under the skin for precisely controlled drug dosing, the researchers suggest.

ARTICLE #2 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Light-Triggered Molecule-Scale Drug Dosing Devices

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Contact: Michael Woods
m_woods@acs.org
202-872-4400
American Chemical Society
6-Aug-2007