Could bacteria, nanoparticles and smart therapies revolutionise drug delivery?
A medicine can only do its job if it reaches its destination. The latest Nature Outlook: Drug Delivery, published in Nature, surveys the scientific ingenuity being applied to this persistent challenge. Researchers are developing nanoparticles that can cross the blood–brain barrier, historically an obstacle in treating brain cancers and neurodegenerative conditions, while others are enlisting live bacteria to ferry drugs directly into the tumour microenvironment, enabling large therapeutic doses without systemic toxicity. The ambition goes further still: some scientists are directing treatment not just to specific cells, but to individual subcellular structures such as the mitochondria. Explore the collection here >>
Precision delivery counts for nothing if the patient never takes the drug. Route of administration matters: nasal sprays could replace painful injections, raising vaccination uptake and limiting respiratory transmission. Microneedle patches and slow-release injectable formulations promise to reduce the burden of repeated dosing, and some researchers are pursuing therapies in which the body synthesises the medicine itself—on demand, even during sleep. Yet technology alone cannot solve the adherence problem. Behavioural science is now shedding light on why people avoid medication and what might persuade them to change course.
This Outlook is produced with financial support from Taiho Oncology, Inc, while maintaining Nature’s editorial independence.
Explore the features:
- Feature 1: Special delivery: bacterial couriers are smuggling drugs into cancers
- Feature 2: Drug-delivering particles aim to breach the blood–brain barrier
- Feature 3: Dose once, treat forever: drugs are being engineered to last much longer
- Partner feature: Patient-centric drug delivery from Taiho Oncology: What does the future hold?
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