{"682959":{"#nid":"682959","#data":{"type":"news","title":"These \u2018Exploding\u2019 Capsules Could Deliver Insulin Without a Needle","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech engineers have created a pill that could effectively deliver insulin and other injectable drugs, making medicines for chronic illnesses easier for patients to take, less invasive, and potentially less expensive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlong with insulin, it also could be used for semaglutide \u2014 the popular GLP-1 medication sold as Ozempic and Wegovy \u2014 and a host of other top-selling protein-based medications like antibodies and growth hormone that are part of a $400 billion market.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese drugs usually have to be injected because they can\u2019t overcome the protective barriers of the gastrointestinal tract. Georgia Tech\u2019s new capsule uses a small pressurized \u201cexplosion\u201d to shoot medicine past those barriers in the small intestine and into the bloodstream. Unlike other designs, it has no complicated moving parts and requires no battery or stored energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jconrel.2025.113963\u0022\u003EThis study\u003C\/a\u003E introduces a new way of drug delivery that is as easy as swallowing a pill and replaces the need for painful injections,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chbe.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/mark-prausnitz\u0022\u003EMark Prausnitz\u003C\/a\u003E, who created the pill in his lab with former Ph.D. student Joshua Palacios and other student researchers.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn animal lab tests, they showed their capsule lowered blood sugar levels just like traditional insulin injections. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jconrel.2025.113963\u0022\u003EThe researchers reported their pill design and study results DATE in the \u003Cem\u003EJournal of Controlled Release\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/coe.gatech.edu\/news\/2025\/07\/these-exploding-capsules-can-deliver-insulin-without-needle\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERead about the technology on the College of Engineering website.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEngineers use sodium bicarb to \u201cself-pressurize\u201d a pill able to deliver drugs that usually require injection directly to the small intestine.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Engineers use sodium bicarb to \u201cself-pressurize\u201d a pill able to deliver drugs that usually require injection directly to the small intestine."}],"uid":"27446","created_gmt":"2025-06-30 21:28:19","changed_gmt":"2025-07-08 15:32:58","author":"Joshua Stewart","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-07-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-07-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677313":{"id":"677313","type":"image","title":"Mark-Prausnitz-needle-capsule-closeup_5169.jpg","body":null,"created":"1751318916","gmt_created":"2025-06-30 21:28:36","changed":"1751318916","gmt_changed":"2025-06-30 21:28:36","alt":"Prototype of an \u0022exploding\u0022 capsule next to a syringe. The capsule can deliver medications that are typically only effective if injected.","file":{"fid":"261199","name":"Mark-Prausnitz-needle-capsule-closeup_5169.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/06\/30\/Mark-Prausnitz-needle-capsule-closeup_5169.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/06\/30\/Mark-Prausnitz-needle-capsule-closeup_5169.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":600837,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/06\/30\/Mark-Prausnitz-needle-capsule-closeup_5169.jpg?itok=8W1f8FQY"}}},"media_ids":["677313"],"groups":[{"id":"660369","name":"Matter and Systems"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"495","name":"Mark Prausnitz"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"193652","name":"Matter and Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jstewart@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJoshua Stewart\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECollege of Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jstewart@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}