The EPSRC nanotechnology image library

Nanotechnology and drug delivery

Richard Jones (EPSRC Strategic Advisor for Nanotechnology and Fellow of the Royal Society) shares his thoughts on the future of drug delivery...

Approximately 99 per cent of medicinal molecules don't reach their targets and subsequently, stay in the body of the patient. As these molecules can sometimes be very toxic - particularly in the case of those designed to target cancers - research is being undertaken into more effective ways of safely transporting and delivering drugs.

A challenge for nanotechnology in this research is to create a device which can carry a drug payload to it's target, be monitored throughout it's journey and deliver, without being attacked and destroyed by the body's natural defences. This calls for something which possesses stealth design characteristics and a plausible device is described here in this movie.

You can also download this movie in Quicktime (.mov) format. File size is 17 MB : DOWNLOAD

Movie credits

Scientific Direction : Richard Jones

Camera : Jeff Baggott

CGI : Jem Lee

Edit : Mark Purcell and Neil Fergusson

Sound Composition : Neil Webb

Post-Production Sound : Ron Wright

Research : Andy Eccleston

Production : Debbie Ballin

Direction : Jeff Baggott

Thanks to : Giuseppe Battaglia and Kate Davies

Copyright 2007 : EPSRC, Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield

 

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. All image post-treatments by Andy Eccleston.