Using glucose to fuel drug delivery to the brain

A new drug delivery system that autonomously navigates the body using its own glucose molecules has been developed and tested by a UCL-led team of scientists. The study, published today in Science Advances and funded by the European Research Council, demonstrates a new propulsion and guidance system for targeting drug delivery to the brain. It is based on 'chemotaxis' whereby organisms naturally move towards or away from specific chemicals. The system, tested in rats, successfully delivered drugs across the blood-brain barrier which is impermeable to many substances, making the brain difficult to treat. The scientists say it could be adapted to deliver drugs to other areas in the body using other molecules in the body.  "We made tiny particles that can carry drug molecules in the main compartment, but each has a separate sack that sits on the outside of the particle and contains enzymes that use glucose as a fuel to drive movement," explained lead author Professor Giuseppe Battaglia (UCL Chemistry and UCL Chemical Engineering). "Glucose is present throughout the body but the brain has especially high concentrations. These tiny drug carriers move towards areas where there are high levels of glucose, transforming it into fuel for their own propulsion.