Repeated hypodermic injections may cause significant pain and pose an economic burden on the patient. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Jun. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Research Foundation announced on Thursday that a research team led by Prof. Choy Young-bin from Seoul National University and Prof. Choi Jin-ho from Dankook University have developed a biotransplantation device that delivers medicine using near-infrared radiation.
Repeated hypodermic injections may cause significant pain and pose an economic burden on the patient.
Patients suffering from growth hormone deficiencies are a classic example, since they require regular injections of growth hormones.
The research team developed a system where medicine containers can be transplanted into the skin, with the drugs released one after another using near-infrared radiation .
Among various kinds of infrared light, near-infrared is the closest to the visible light spectrum, and is used mostly for industrial and medical purposes.
Near-infrared radiation is used to selectively destroy the seal covering the individual medicine containers. The seal is comprised of graphene-based nanoparticles and macromolecules.
This new technology is designed to freely deliver a certain amount of medicine within the patient’s body, according to the research team.
“This will help patients who require regular injections over an extended period of time due to chronic diseases,” said professor Choy. “It’s an innovative medical device that will help patients.”
The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States on May 23.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
