彻底解决针头恐惧

Science&technology

科技版块

Drug delivery

药物输送

Trypanophobics rejoice!

晕针症患者的福音

A new way to deliver delicate drugs, no jabbing required

一种无需打针就可以输送易分解药物的新方式

PLENTY OF PEOPLE hate needles.

很多人讨厌打针。

Indeed, it is probably the case that a portion of those refusing to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 might be doing so simply because they do not want the discomfort of being jabbed.

的确，一部分人不愿接种新冠疫苗，仅仅是因为不喜欢针扎的不适感。

A new invention could help—for those who are needle-shy, how about taking a pill instead?

一项新发明可能会帮助那些怕打针头的人。换成服用药片怎么样？

Two of the most successful covid-19 vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, need to be administered via injections because their active ingredients are fragile molecules of mRNA.

两款最成功的新冠肺炎疫苗（分别来自辉瑞生物技术公司和莫德纳公司）都需要通过注射进行接种，因为它们的活性成分是mRNA中不稳定的分子。

These vaccines cannot be administered orally, since the mRNA would be quickly destroyed by acids in the stomach.

这些疫苗不能口服，因为mRNA会被胃酸迅速破坏。

Aware of these challenges, Robert Langer and Giovanni Traverso, engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), wondered if it might be possible instead to smuggle mRNA into the stomach inside a protective capsule that is engineered to jab patients from the inside, where they would feel nothing.

麻省理工学院的工程师罗伯特·兰格和乔瓦尼·特拉弗索意识到了这些挑战，他们在想是否有可能用一种保护囊将mRNA偷偷运送送到胃里，这种保护囊是为了从体内给患者注射而设计的，患者那个部位没有任何感觉。

This is not new ground for the researchers.

这对研究人员来说并不是什么新鲜事。

Several years ago they collaborated to create a star-shaped structure that could be folded up inside a capsule and then released when the capsule dissolved in the stomach.

几年前，他们合力创造了一种星状结构，这种结构可以折叠在胶囊中，当胶囊在胃中溶解时即会释放出来。

Once free, the structure remained in the stomach for a month, slowly releasing contraceptives, malaria drugs or HIV treatments as needed by a patient.

一旦释放出来，这个结构就会在胃里停留一个月，根据病人的需要去缓慢释放避孕药、疟疾药物或艾滋病治疗药物。

With this in mind, Dr Langer and Dr Traverso wondered whether they could design something that could linger in the stomach and then inject its medication there.

考虑到这一点，兰格博士和特拉弗索博士在想他们是否能设计出一种可以在胃里停留，然后将药物注射到胃里的东西。

The device they invented is the size of a large pill, encased in gelatine and shaped like the shell of a tortoise.

他们发明的装置有一个大药片的大小，包裹在明胶里，形状像龟壳。

It carries a needle that is engineered to penetrate the lining of the stomach only when the device’s flat section sits flush against it.

它携带一根针，只有当装置的平坦部分完好坐落在胃里时，针才会刺穿胃黏膜。

So aligned, the needle can then inject its payload painlessly into the stomach wall.

对齐之后，针头就可以无痛地将药物注入胃壁。

The researchers knew, however, that this trick alone would not be enough for safe passage of the delicate molecules.

然而，研究人员知道，这个方法本身不足以让一些脆弱的分子安全通过。

Naked mRNA is not readily taken up by cells, but needs to be encased inside a protective envelope to gain entry.

裸露的mRNA不容易被细胞吸收，但需要被包裹在一个保护性的包膜中才能进入细胞。

The mRNA molecules of covid-19 vaccines are delivered into cells inside tiny bubbles of fat.

新冠病毒疫苗的mRNA分子通过微小的脂肪气泡进入细胞。

But the sort of delivery mechanism needed for Dr Langer’s and Dr Traverso's device was not immediately clear.

但是兰格博士和特拉弗索博士的装置所需要的输送机制目前还不清楚。

To investigate further, the engineers worked with colleagues at MIT to test several hundred specially shaped polymers that they thought might be able to protect their mRNA molecules as they transferred into stomach cells.

为了进一步研究，工程师们与麻省理工学院的同事们一起测试了数百种特殊形状的聚合物，他们认为这些聚合物可能能够在mRNA分子转移到胃细胞时保护它们。

They found three polymers that could carry the mRNA payloads successfully and also support a transfer into living cells.

他们发现了三种能够成功携带mRNA有效载荷的聚合物，并支持将其转移到活细胞中。

The engineers loaded these polymer-encased mRNA molecules into their turtle-shell pills, which were then swallowed by six mice.

工程师们将这些聚合物包裹的mRNA分子装入龟壳状药片中，并让六只老鼠吞下。

As expected, they subsequently found evidence that the mRNA had transferred successfully into the stomach tissue of all the mice.

正如预期的那样，他们随后发现了mRNA成功转移到所有小鼠胃组织的证据。

The researchers then went on to test their technology on pigs, which have stomachs that are very similar to those found in humans.

然后，研究人员继续在猪身上测试他们的技术，猪的胃与人类的胃非常相似。

They introduced their turtle-shell pills into three animals and studied their stomachs a day later.

他们将龟壳药片给三只猪吞下，一天后研究它们的胃。

Two showed clear evidence of the mRNA having entered their cells. One did not.

其中两只显示出mRNA已经进入细胞的明确证据。一只没有显示。

Dr Traverso and Dr Langer published details of their work this week in the journal Matter.

兰格博士和特拉弗索博士本周在《Matter》杂志上发表了他们所做研究的细节。

Their device shows the potential to get mRNA into the body without the need for an uncomfortable jab in the arm.

他们的装置显示出，在不需要对手臂进行不舒服针刺注射的情况下，可以将mRNA导入人体。

More work is needed, however, both to understand why one trial in the pigs failed to yield results and also to work out if the mRNA molecules like those found in covid-19 vaccines can also be successfully delivered via something like Dr Langer's and Dr Traverso's turtle-shell pills.

然而，人们还需要做更多的研究，既要了解为什么在猪身上的试验有一次没有产生结果，也要弄清楚新冠疫苗中发现的mRNA分子是否也可以通过兰格博士和特拉弗索博士的龟壳药片成功传递。