Merging Factors Driving the Growth of Dry Powder Inhaled Delivery
4/27/17 The search for improved routes of administration for therapeutic agents and the desire for noninvasive delivery methods for self-medication of chronic conditions have led to increased interest in pulmonary drug delivery systems. Recent developments, including ongoing research activity in powder formulations, advances in particle engineering, and novel device designs have positioned dry powder inhalation as an attractive option for the pharma and biotech industries.
Inhalers for the treatment of upper respiratory ailments, like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, are arguably the most mission-critical drug delivery device class currently on the market. These combination products are relied upon by tens of millions of Americans and more than 300 million worldwide for the treatment of debilitating and life-threatening respiratory conditions.
As managed care initiatives drive growth in home health care and self-administration of drug therapies, inhaled medicine is increasingly being viewed as patient-friendly and cost-effective.
The market for inhaled drugs targeting upper respiratory diseases is a maturing technology with most development activity now centering on combination drug inhalers. Oral inhalers containing two drugs that compliment the therapeutic actions of one another is one of the key factors in the DoseOne™ single dose powder inhaler (US Patent #7,832,399 B2 and #8,360,057 B2). Combination inhalers most commonly consist of an inhaled corticosteroid in combination with a bronchodilator. These products are showing significant commercial success in the two markets for which they are indicated – Asthma and COPD – both of which are forecast to grow at impressive rates for the remainder of the decade.
In the area of inhaler technology, MES has the exclusive worldwide rights to sell one of the most innovative DPIs available today, the DoseOne™ Single Dose Powder Inhaler. This 3-component inhaler is easy to use, has a low manufacturing cost and is equipped with a simple dose readiness indicator and a dose delivery indicator. If you are interested in partnering with MES on the DoseOne™ product, or you are looking to explore some of the possibilities that exist for the development of ultra precision devices for other medical applications, please email Donna Bibber at donna@microengineeringsolutions.com. For full details of DoseOne™ see www.dose-one.com.
Inspecting Micro Sized Medical Components
4/20/17 The technology Micro Engineering Solutions currently uses to inspect the tiny dust-sized components we work on is crucial to helping us understand the make up of the component as well as verify everything is within spec. We create the metrology by using a laser scanner vision system which takes a 3D scan of the part for us to use. To hear more about this, please watch our YouTube clip here.
Nanostraw Extraction Doesn’t Harm Cells
4/13/17 Routine lab work to examine biological parameters usually depends on destroying cells to release their contents for measurement. This technique has been used for decades, but its downfall is any given cell can only be analyzed once in a snapshot-like manner. A new technique developed at Stanford University enables researchers to non-destructively sample a cell’s interior, thus allowing for dynamic monitoring of the same cell over multiple time-points.
Mimicking natural gates which allow cells to exchange substances, the researchers built an array of nano-scale hollow tubes 600 times thinner than a human hair. Cells grown on this Nanostraw Extraction (NEX) platform are subjected to a momentary electrical current, freeing some of the cellular contents to diffuse out and through the nanostraws for collection and analysis by standard lab techniques, such as ELISA or PCR. Coupling a transient current with these nanostraws allows the researchers to take multiple snapshots of a cell’s interior without killing it.
This technique was tested on cell lines and human stem-cell derived heart and brain cells for up to 20 days, showing that it did not alter cell survival or morphology. This NEX platform promises to revolutionize dynamic assays, such as those studying stem cell development or transient drug responses.
Micro Part Handling Challenges Regarding Static Electricity
4/6/17 MES makes extremely small parts, some are the size of a speck of dust. When handling those micro sized parts, the natural static electricity in the air can….see the rest of this video on static electricity here.