Congratulations, you’ve somehow stumbled onto one of the most important technologies of the 21st century! The practice of drug delivery can be complicated, but the value proposition is simple: we have drugs that don’t go where they’re supposed to go, so we need to change or package them to end up in the right place. This is especially true of the growing field of biologics, biologically derived therapeutics that are changing medicine. These types of drugs can target the actors in disease pathologies in ways previously unimaginable. The trick is that biologics are made of material familiar to the body (antibodies, proteins, peptides, nucleic acids, etc.), and the body has honed mechanisms to avoid, eject, or destroy these therapeutics.

“The right place” could refer to an organ, cell type, or even a specific area within the cell. Each variable you change can effect some other part of biodistribution, which can make it tricky. Imagine the perfect cancer drug. It courses through the veins, not causing any toxicity, as it seeks out and destroys the last remaining metastatic cell coiled around the shaft of a nerve cell. That’s the impossible ideal we’re working towards. Drop the toxicity & side effects, improve the efficacy. That’s why there’s a whole field of scientists and engineers trying to make bad drugs good, and good drugs better.

So how can you “Trojan Horse” these drugs? What are some of the tools? I’ve made a little sample palette to give some idea of the potential. There are TONS of ways to encapsulate drugs – each with a set of strengths and weaknesses. Materials, carrier targeting, shape, surface textures, and size each have some effect on the behavior in the body. Want to see how these approaches at drug packaging are changing how we manage diseases? Check out my pillar post.