Drug Delivery

How medication is administered underwent a significant revolution in the 20th century. Potions and concoctions gave way to pills, and then capsules, and microsphere injections that not improved the longevity (bioavailability) of the medication in the blood, but also the duration of action.  These sustained (or controlled ) release systems Pioneered by Prof. Robert Langer in the late 1970's and others revolutionized the way medication was given to patients and improved patient compliance. While the concept of sustained release has seen applications in many areas (self-healing materials, beverage industry, automobile industry) , Controlled Release Systems (CRS) have become key in the evolution of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and cancer therapy. Delivery of medication can be achieved through oral, injectable, and trans-epithelial.  Since materials processing and polymer science is at the core of sustained therapeutics, our efforts in drug delivery is augmented by a robust program in the development of biofunctional macromolecules and functionalized degradable polymers.  

Our efforts are focused on three broad themes:
- Developing systems for spatially and temporally controlled delivery of peptides and growth factors for developmental engineering
- Delivery of drugs and agents to tumors, for imaging and treatment of tumors
- Understanding the structure-property relationship in macromolecules that facilitate transdermal transport- Device-based delivery

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