Researchers in the USA have developed new oil-based gels to help children and adults who have problems swallowing pills to take medicine, Science Daily reported.
The research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital created the drug-delivering gel by mixing drugs with oil-based gels, the 27 May report said.
Made from plant-based oils such as sesame oil, the gels can be prepared with a range of textures, according to the report, from a thickened drink to a yoghurt-like substance. Such gels, also known as oleo gels, are commonly used in the food industry to change the texture of oily foods and to raise the melting point of chocolate and ice cream.
Although other methods were currently available for delivering medication to children and adults with difficulties swallowing, such as suspending drugs in water, they required clean water to be available and the drugs needed to be refrigerated once mixed, the researchers said, and this approach was not possible for drugs that were not water-soluble.
As the new gels were stable without refrigeration, it could make it easier to deliver them to children in developing nations, the researchers said, but could also benefit children worldwide while helping adults, such as the elderly or people who have had a stroke.
“This platform will change our capacity for what we can do for kids and also for adults who have difficulty receiving medication. Given the simplicity of the system and its low cost, it could have a tremendous impact on making it easier for patients to take medications,” Giovanni Traverso, the Karl van Tassel career development assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the senior author of the study, said.
The research team demonstrated in animal studies that the gels could be used to deliver several types of medication for the treatment of infectious disease, in the same doses that could be delivered by pills or tablets.
Several types of plant-derived oils, including sesame oil, cottonseed oil, and flaxseed oil were used in the study. By combining the oils with edible gelling agents such as beeswax and rice bran wax, different textures were created depending on the concentration and type of oil and gelling agent.
To identify the most palatable gels, the researchers worked with Sensory Spectrum, a consulting firm specialising in consumer sensory experiences. Working with the company’s panels of professionally-trained tasters, the researchers found that the most appealing gels included those made from oil with a neutral flavour (such as cottonseed oil) or a slightly nutty flavour (like sesame oil), Science Daily wrote.
The gels were tested with three water-insoluble drugs drawn from the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines for children: praziquantel, used to treat parasitic infections; lumefantrine, used to treat malaria; and azithromycin, used to treat bacterial infections.
In animal tests, the research team found that oleo gels were able to deliver doses equal to or higher than the amounts that could be absorbed from tablets.
A water-soluble drug, an antibiotic called moxifloxacin hydrochloride, could be successfully delivered by an oleo gel, the study found.
The researchers have obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to run a phase I clinical trial of the oleo gel formulation of azithromycin, which they hope to start running at the Brigham and Women's Hospital Center for Clinical Investigation within the next few months, according to the report.
To store and deliver the drugs, the researchers also designed a dispenser similar to a squeezable yoghurt package, with compartments that could be used to separate doses. This could make it easier to deliver the right dosage for each child, depending on their weight, the researchers said.
The study was published in Science Advances on 27 May.
