The idea of replacing drugs traditionally given by injections with pills, first insulin – has been around for a while. It would be a great benefit for patients, doctors and caregivers. One of the most active protagonists of the research on the subject is Giovanni Traverso, a researcher at MIT in Boston, who has been working for years on alternative needle pills projects. Today he returns to reinvigorate the field by presenting him with his team, on the pages of Scientific RoboticsRoboCap, una pillola robotica.
RoboCap, the “jump obstacle” capsule
The pills are convenient, easy to take and practical. However, some substances, such as proteins (insulin is a protein hormone), are difficult to take by mouth. In fact, in order to be bioavailable, these substances must overcome many obstacles, Traverso and colleagues recall, such as the acidic environment of the stomach, the attack of digestive enzymes, the presence of the microbiome and intestinal mucus. That’s why think of a mini robot – just over a cent of a dollar in size – designed to overcome, one by one, all the obstacles that compromise the bioavailability of molecules such as insulin.
Afraid of the needle? Swallow the pill, she’ll take care of it
by Irma D’Aria
Robocap is a small capsule but at the same time it is a real concentrate of engineering. It is made with materials similar to those used for endoscopic capsules and, unlike a classic capsule, shows a series of central grooves, functional to the release of the drug. But first you need to activate it. In fact, RoboCap has a gelatin coating that is eliminated in the stomach and subsequently, their creators explain, the pH of the intestine activates the capsule (dissolving a protective membrane), which thus begins to act. Thanks to a battery and a small motor, it therefore begins to vibrate, also aided by the spiral geometry present on the surface. This movement facilitates the destruction of the mucus, releasing the drug (loaded in a compartment at the other end of the capsule) and increasing the possibility of its absorption in the intestine. This on paper. But does it work in practice?
The first swallowable injections are being tested: the pill releases microneedles in the stomach
Increased bioavailability of the drug
Tests conducted by the researchers involved insulin and vancomycin, an antibiotic with limited oral bioavailability. The evidence ex vivo e in vivo on pig models they have shown that RoboCap actually manages to increase the bioavailability of these substances by 20 to 40 times compared to classic methods of oral administration. In the case of insulin, this was also associated with a pharmacological action, with the drug’s ability to reduce blood glucose levels. The capsule, importantly, passes through the intestines of the animals without causing obstructions or perforations. Certainly the design is perfectible, the authors conclude, but RoboCap has been shown to be able to overcome gastrointestinal barriers by releasing the ferried drugs. Who knows if the heirs of this capsule will not be the insulin “ferrymen” of the future.