Researchers force breakthrough in the administration of natural painkillers

Charlotte Martin and Steven Ballet of the VUB Research Group of Organic Chemistry have succeeded in developing an injectable hydrogel that can be used to administer natural painkillers in a minimally invasive manner. The hydrogel is broken down naturally in the body and has a pain-relieving effect of 3 to 4 days. Such a system reduces the number of required administrations and it can lower the serious and addictive side effects of opioid analgesics. The hydrogels can also carry other active ingredients, which means that many other medicines can be administered in this minimally invasive and biodegradable way. Ballet: "The developed injectable hydrogels are promising, because they can potentially be used for the controlled supply of therapeutic proteins and other peptide-based treatments". With their research, the researchers made the cover of the renowned Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. Pharmaceutical pain management often has serious side effects when using heavy opioid-based painkillers. Opioids such as morphine, fentanyl and oxycodone, when used inappropriately can become quickly highly addictive, like heroin does. Other side effects include constipation, tolerance and respiratory depression-which can lead to death in high doses. In the United States today, more people die from painkiller overdose than from heroin. It has taken real epidemic proportions, with at least 2.5 million addicts. Excessive use of these painkillers killed superstars like Prince, George Michael and Michael Jackson. Opioids are also produced by the human body