(source : ANI) ( Photo Credit : ani)
Scientists from the University of Cambridge have invented a smart gel that detects tiny chemical shifts in the body, like the extra acidity during an arthritis flare-up, and releases medication right on the spot. This breakthrough could transform how we treat arthritis, offering targeted relief that cuts down on side effects and keeps pain at bay for longer.
The gel acts like a high-tech bandage for joints. It mimics the squishy feel of natural cartilage while packing in anti-inflammatory drugs. When a joint flares up and turns more acidic, the gel softens up and lets go of the drugs exactly where they’re needed. This pH-sensitive material only kicks in during that narrow window of acidity, so it avoids dumping medicine everywhere else in the body.
Arthritis hits hard—over 10 million people in the UK deal with it, racking up about £10.2 billion in costs for the National Health Service each year. Globally, more than 600 million folks face the condition. Right now, treatments often mean repeated doses that can cause unwanted side effects. But this smart gel could provide steady, on-demand drug delivery, making life easier for patients.
The team behind this, led by Professor Oren Scherman from Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, built the gel using special reversible links in a polymer network. These links react to acidity changes, giving the material its responsive powers. “We’ve long been fascinated by using these gels in joints because they copy cartilage so well,” Scherman said. “Pairing that with precise drug release is incredibly promising.”
In lab tests, researchers loaded the gel with a glowing dye to simulate a drug. At the acidic levels seen in inflamed arthritic joints, it released way more of the cargo than in normal conditions. “By tweaking the gel’s chemistry, we make it super sensitive to those subtle acidity shifts in swollen tissue,” explained co-author Dr. Jade McCune. “Drugs get out exactly when and where they’re most useful.”
First author Dr. Stephen O’Neill highlighted how this could change things: “These gels sense when the body’s off-balance and respond by delivering treatment right there. It might mean fewer doses and better quality of life for patients.” Unlike some systems that need heat or light to work, this one runs on the body’s own chemistry—no gadgets required.
The approach isn’t just for arthritis. Researchers say they can customize the gel for other issues, like cancer, by adjusting its makeup. “It’s flexible enough to mix fast-acting and slow-release drugs in one go, potentially lasting days, weeks, or months,” O’Neill added.
The study appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. While the team still needs to run clinical trials and test the gel in living organisms for safety and performance, they’re optimistic. If it pans out, this pH-responsive biomaterial could usher in smarter ways to battle chronic diseases with pinpoint accuracy.
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