bioengineering
First Virtual Stomach Explores Drug Delivery
Researchers have developed the first virtual stomach, a computer-generated model that is providing unique insights into the way medicines are released from pills and capsules. “There’s no other technique to allow you to see flow patterns in a real stomach, animal or human,” said lead researcher James G. Brasseur, Ph.D., a professor of mechanical engineering and bioengineering at The Pennsylvania State University. Although pills and tablets have become a ubiquitous part of our society, the detail of how the stomach breaks them down to help release their medicine remains unclear. “You can give someone a drug and measure its uptake in tissue,” he said, “but the process between administering the drug and the uptake is largely guesswork.”
Smart polymers provide light-activated switch to turn enzymes on and off
Researchers have applied studies in how proteins bind with different molecules to create a molecular switch that enables them to turn an enzyme on and off. The innovation holds promise for a wide range of laboratory processes, including highly targeted drug therapies. The study, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, describes a reversible switch for the enzyme endoglucanase in which light is the trigger for turning the switch on and off.