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Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have designed a proton trap that makes organic electronic ion pumps more precise when delivering drugs.
According to the researchers, this new technique may reduce the side-effects of the drugs. They also believe that in the long term, ion pumps may help patients with symptoms of neurological diseases for which effective treatments are not available.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Science Advances.
The study stated that around 6 per cent of the world’s population suffer from neurological diseases such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and chronic pain. However, currently available drug delivery methods — mainly tablets and injections — place the drug in locations where it is not required. This can lead to side-effects that harm the patient.
Daniel Simon, associate professor in the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology at Linköping University, said in the study: “Organic electronic ion pumps have a huge potential for use in the treatment and diagnosis of neurological diseases.”
He added: “They could function in a similar manner to the insulin pumps already in use but deliver the drug directly into the nervous system. Our most recent discovery is a proton trap that makes the amount delivered even more precise.”
Earlier, this research group had developed an organic electronic ion pump with delivery outlets as small as 20 x 20 micrometers. It should be possible to implant such devices to deliver drugs at exactly the desired location in the nervous system.
The researchers hope that it will be possible to use the ion pump to discover and halt the development of neurological symptoms before the patient notices them.
“I believe that in a few years we will see organic bioelectronic ion pumps being used in the treatment of many neurological diseases. The proton trap can be integrated into all organic bioelectronic ion pumps, and our discovery has brought practical applications a lot closer,” said Xenofon Strakosas, a staff scientist at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, of the article in Science Advances.
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