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The Right Recipe
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An Emory research team believes it has found the right recipe of ingredients to one day make safe, effective drug-laden microparticles for heart attack patients.
The team, led by biomedical engineer Michael E. Davis, found that injecting animal hearts with microparticles formulated with the polymer PCADK—poly(cyclohexane-1,4-diylacetone dimethylene ketone)—improved cardiac function after simulated heart attack. Unlike other “carrier” molecules, PCADK degrades into two benign substances: 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, an FDA-approved food additive, and acetone, an endogenous compound.
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Summary
Researchers believe that a number of anti-inflammatory drugs, if delivered directly into the heart following heart attack, could prevent permanent damage and prolong heart function. The challenge, however, is finding an effective way to deliver the drugs. Some drugs require such large doses that toxicity becomes a risk. Others must be injected daily. Certain drug delivery methods themselves can cause inflammation.
Status
- Workflow Status:Published
- Created By:Floyd Wood
- Created:07/27/2009
- Modified By:Fletcher Moore
- Modified:10/07/2016
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