Smart osteoarthritis gel responds to pressure

A new gel is being developed that could deliver anti-inflammatory medication when and where people with osteoarthritis need it most, says research published in Biomacromolecules.

The gel releases anti-inflammatory medicine when it is compressed – such as at a painful knee joint.

Other smart gels that release medications over several days rather than in a single burst tend to work in response to changes in temperature, light or other factors. Few respond to pressure, which is the problem in joints affected by osteoarthritis.

Now a team has created a special type of hydrogel that responds to compression – such as the pressure between joints that occurs in everyday movement – and loaded it with an anti-inflammatory drug called dexamethasone, which is sometimes used to treat arthritis. When they compressed the hydrogel in the laboratory, it boosted the release of the drug. The researchers are currently testing their smart pain medications in laboratory animals.

Visit http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bm4011276 for more information.