Biobattery-powered microneedle patch can deliver drugs and procure testing samples

A pain-free, organic and biodegradable drug delivery patch may be on the horizon for home health care patients soon. Researchers from Tohoku University have developed a biobattery-powered device capable of both delivering large molecule pharmaceuticals across the skin barrier and extracting interstitial fluid for diagnostic purposes. They published their approach online on Jan. 28 in […]

Botulism breakthrough? Taming botulinum toxin to deliver therapeutics

While rare, botulism can cause paralysis and is potentially fatal. It is caused by nerve-damaging toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum—the most potent toxins known. These toxins are often found in contaminated food (home canning being a major culprit). Infants can also develop botulism from ingesting C. botulinum spores in honey, soil, or dust; the bacterium […]