TRANSFORM THE FIELD OF IMPLANT, CATHETER AND STENT INTERVENTIONS
Within a short time, drug-eluting coatings for implants, catheters, and stents have revolutionised treatments. Representing a new approach to local drug delivery, they are aimed at preventing infections. However, unsustainable and uncontrolled drug release is a challenge making them ineffective for long-term infection prophylaxis. In our smart coatings drugs are released in a controlled manner, efficiently combating infections.
We provide R&D services and seek partnerships with medical device producers to bring our innovative controlled-release drug-eluting coatings to the market.
WE INTRODUCE CONTROLLED-RELEASE DRUG-ELUTING COATINGS
We introduce the world’s first drug-eluting coatings with a controlled drug release function for catheters, stents, and implants. The existing coatings lack control over drug release. Small drug molecules are released too fast, requiring higher doses of medication to maintain the required therapeutic dosage. As a result, it increases the risks of side effects and reduces treatment effectiveness.
Our microcontainer film technology solves this problem. We place drugs inside programmable microcontainers and ensure their controlled release, greatly improving treatment effectiveness.
Our material is a polymer film made with microcontainers, which look like air bubbles in Bubble Wrap, only at the micro- and nanometre scale.
MICROCONTAINER FILM
MICROCONTAINERS BEFORE AND AFTER OPENING
CONTROLLED DRUG RELEASE FUNCTION
Default Title
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisi cing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et....
Default Title
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisi cing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et....
Default Title
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisi cing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et....
Default Title
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisi cing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et....
We can programme our microcontainer film to achieve the controlled release of encapsulated drugs on demand, ensuring local, accurate and effective drug dosage:
-
PROLONGED DRUG RELEASE
Constant and prolonged drug release, up to several months
-
SLOW/FAST DRUG RELEASE
Drugs can be released slowly or immediately
-
TIMED DRUG RELEASE
Drugs are released at a specific time
-
TRIGGERED DRUG RELEASE
Drug release can be triggered by ultrasound, light, pH, or temperature
Ultrasound-triggered drug release
Whenever needed, the drug is released from the microcontainer film by a low-intensity ultrasound.
Video demonstration
BIOCOMPATIBLE AND BIODEGRADABLE FDA-APPROVED POLYMERS
Our coatings are made from FDA-approved biocompatible and biodegradable synthetic polymers (PLA, PCL, PLGA, etc.) or natural polymers (albumin, chitosan, alginate, agar-agar, gelatin, etc.). The selection of polymers will depend on the properties of drugs and the required release mechanism.
HIGH LOADING CAPACITY
Microcontainers can hold a high volume of drugs (cargo-shell ratio up to 10:1).
LOW-COST SOLUTION
Production costs are mainly determined by the price of polymers and encapsulated active substances, representing a fraction of the final price of the product.
WIDE CHOICE OF ACTIVE SUBSTANCES
Microcontainers can be filled with any drug regardless of their molecular weight and solubility. Our coatings can hold multiple drugs, making them multifunctional. In addition to antimicrobial drugs, we can incorporate healing or bone-repair substances.
“A LA CARTE” DRUG RELEASE
We offer different controlled-release scenarios, such as drug release triggered by ultrasound, near-infrared red (NIR) laser light, pH or temperature.
WITHSTAND STERILISATION
Our coatings are compatible with gamma/X-ray. Compatibility with other sterilisation methods will depend on the polymers and drugs used for the coatings.
Microcontainer film coatings made of PCL, PLA and PLGA
a) Coatings made of PCL (polycaprolactone) b) Coatings made from PLA (polylactic acid), c) Coatings made from PLGA (Poly-D, L-lactide-co-glycolide) d) Microcontainer film structure (left) and a single microcontainer filled with a substance (methylprednisolone sodium succinate) (right)
PILOT CLINICAL TRIALS
COATINGS FOR URETHRAL CATHETERS
Ultrasound-triggered release of anti-inflammatory drugs (prednisolone)
COATINGS FOR BILIARY AND PANCREATIC STENTS
Biliary stent coated with our microcontainer film with anti-inflammatory drugs (prednisolone)
COATINGS FOR BONE IMPLANTS
Bone implant coated our microcontainer film with cefazolin for the prevention of bacterial infection
COATINGS FOR HERNIA MESHES
Hernia meshes for prolonged drug delivery (rebamipide) to prevent the risk of post-surgery implant-associated infections and the damaging effects of NSAIDs
COATINGS FOR VENTRICULAR DRAINAGE AND CRANIAL MESHES
External ventricular drainage (EVD) and cranial meshes for the prolonged release of antibiotics (vancomycin and meropenem) to prevent implant-associated bacterial infection after brain surgery
References:
“Patterned Drug-Eluting Coatings for Tracheal Stents Based on PLA, PLGA, and PCL for the Granulation Formation Reduction: In Vivo Studies” 2021, Pharmaceutics
“Microchamber arrays made of biodegradable polymers for enzymatic release of small hydrophilic cargos” 2020, Soft Matter
“Polylactic acid-based patterned matrixes for site-specific delivery of neuropeptides on-demand: functional NGF effects on human neuronal cells” 2020, Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology
“Stimuli-Responsive Microarray Films for Real-Time Sensing of Surrounding Media, Temperature, and Solution Properties via Diffraction Patterns” 2020, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
“Free-standing microchamber arrays as a biodegradable drug depot system for implant coatings” 2019, European Polymer Journal
“The effect of a controlled release of Epinephrine hydrochloride from PLGA microchamber array: in vivo studies” 2018, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
“Polyelectrolyte multilayer microchamber-arrays for in-situ cargo release: Low frequency vs. medical frequency range ultrasound” 2018, Colloids and Surfaces A
“In-situ NIR-laser mediated bioactive substance delivery to single cell for EGFP expression based on biocompatible microchamber-arrays” 2018, Journal of Controlled Release
“Polylactic acid sealed polyelectrolyte multilayer microchambers for entrapment of salts and small hydrophilic molecules precipitates” 2017, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
“Polylactic acid nano-and microchamber arrays for encapsulation of small hydrophilic molecules featuring drug release via high intensity focused ultrasound” 2017, Nanoscale
“Individually Addressable Patterned Multilayer Microchambers for Site‐Specific Release‐On‐Demand” 2013, Macromolecular rapid communications
Overall, our team has over 400 scientific publications on patterned microcontainer films and microencapsulation technologies.
PARTNER WITH US
We seek partnerships with medical device producers to greatly improve the performance of medical devices and bring treatment effectiveness to the next level.