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Science&technology
科技版塊
Drug delivery
藥物輸送
Trypanophobics rejoice!
暈針癥患者的福音
A new way to deliver delicate drugs, no jabbing required
一種無需打針就可以輸送易分解藥物的新方式
PLENTY OF PEOPLE hate needles.
很多人討厭打針。
Indeed, it is probably the case that a portion of those refusing to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 might be doing so simply because they do not want the discomfort of being jabbed.
的確，一部分人不愿接種新冠疫苗，僅僅是因為不喜歡針扎的不適感。
A new invention could help—for those who are needle-shy, how about taking a pill instead?
一項新發明可能會幫助那些怕打針頭的人。換成服用藥片怎么樣？
Two of the most successful covid-19 vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, need to be administered via injections because their active ingredients are fragile molecules of mRNA.
兩款最成功的新冠肺炎疫苗（分別來自輝瑞生物技術公司和莫德納公司）都需要通過注射進行接種，因為它們的活性成分是mRNA中不穩定的分子。
These vaccines cannot be administered orally, since the mRNA would be quickly destroyed by acids in the stomach.
這些疫苗不能口服，因為mRNA會被胃酸迅速破壞。
Aware of these challenges, Robert Langer and Giovanni Traverso, engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), wondered if it might be possible instead to smuggle mRNA into the stomach inside a protective capsule that is engineered to jab patients from the inside, where they would feel nothing.
麻省理工學院的工程師羅伯特·蘭格和喬瓦尼·特拉弗索意識到了這些挑戰，他們在想是否有可能用一種保護囊將mRNA偷偷運送送到胃里，這種保護囊是為了從體內給患者注射而設計的，患者那個部位沒有任何感覺。
This is not new ground for the researchers.
這對研究人員來說并不是什么新鮮事。
Several years ago they collaborated to create a star-shaped structure that could be folded up inside a capsule and then released when the capsule dissolved in the stomach.
幾年前，他們合力創造了一種星狀結構，這種結構可以折疊在膠囊中，當膠囊在胃中溶解時即會釋放出來。
Once free, the structure remained in the stomach for a month, slowly releasing contraceptives, malaria drugs or HIV treatments as needed by a patient.
一旦釋放出來，這個結構就會在胃里停留一個月，根據病人的需要去緩慢釋放避孕藥、瘧疾藥物或艾滋病治療藥物。
With this in mind, Dr Langer and Dr Traverso wondered whether they could design something that could linger in the stomach and then inject its medication there.
考慮到這一點，蘭格博士和特拉弗索博士在想他們是否能設計出一種可以在胃里停留，然后將藥物注射到胃里的東西。
The device they invented is the size of a large pill, encased in gelatine and shaped like the shell of a tortoise.
他們發明的裝置有一個大藥片的大小，包裹在明膠里，形狀像龜殼。
It carries a needle that is engineered to penetrate the lining of the stomach only when the device’s flat section sits flush against it.
它攜帶一根針，只有當裝置的平坦部分完好坐落在胃里時，針才會刺穿胃黏膜。
So aligned, the needle can then inject its payload painlessly into the stomach wall.
對齊之后，針頭就可以無痛地將藥物注入胃壁。
The researchers knew, however, that this trick alone would not be enough for safe passage of the delicate molecules.
然而，研究人員知道，這個方法本身不足以讓一些脆弱的分子安全通過。
Naked mRNA is not readily taken up by cells, but needs to be encased inside a protective envelope to gain entry.
裸露的mRNA不容易被細胞吸收，但需要被包裹在一個保護性的包膜中才能進入細胞。
The mRNA molecules of covid-19 vaccines are delivered into cells inside tiny bubbles of fat.
新冠病毒疫苗的mRNA分子通過微小的脂肪氣泡進入細胞。
But the sort of delivery mechanism needed for Dr Langer’s and Dr Traverso's device was not immediately clear.
但是蘭格博士和特拉弗索博士的裝置所需要的輸送機制目前還不清楚。
To investigate further, the engineers worked with colleagues at MIT to test several hundred specially shaped polymers that they thought might be able to protect their mRNA molecules as they transferred into stomach cells.
為了進一步研究，工程師們與麻省理工學院的同事們一起測試了數百種特殊形狀的聚合物，他們認為這些聚合物可能能夠在mRNA分子轉移到胃細胞時保護它們。
They found three polymers that could carry the mRNA payloads successfully and also support a transfer into living cells.
他們發現了三種能夠成功攜帶mRNA有效載荷的聚合物，并支持將其轉移到活細胞中。
The engineers loaded these polymer-encased mRNA molecules into their turtle-shell pills, which were then swallowed by six mice.
工程師們將這些聚合物包裹的mRNA分子裝入龜殼狀藥片中，并讓六只老鼠吞下。
As expected, they subsequently found evidence that the mRNA had transferred successfully into the stomach tissue of all the mice.
正如預期的那樣，他們隨后發現了mRNA成功轉移到所有小鼠胃組織的證據。
The researchers then went on to test their technology on pigs, which have stomachs that are very similar to those found in humans.
然后，研究人員繼續在豬身上測試他們的技術，豬的胃與人類的胃非常相似。
They introduced their turtle-shell pills into three animals and studied their stomachs a day later.
他們將龜殼藥片給三只豬吞下，一天后研究它們的胃。
Two showed clear evidence of the mRNA having entered their cells. One did not.
其中兩只顯示出mRNA已經進入細胞的明確證據。一只沒有顯示。
Dr Traverso and Dr Langer published details of their work this week in the journal Matter.
蘭格博士和特拉弗索博士本周在《Matter》雜志上發表了他們所做研究的細節。
Their device shows the potential to get mRNA into the body without the need for an uncomfortable jab in the arm.
他們的裝置顯示出，在不需要對手臂進行不舒服針刺注射的情況下，可以將mRNA導入人體。
More work is needed, however, both to understand why one trial in the pigs failed to yield results and also to work out if the mRNA molecules like those found in covid-19 vaccines can also be successfully delivered via something like Dr Langer's and Dr Traverso's turtle-shell pills.
然而，人們還需要做更多的研究，既要了解為什么在豬身上的試驗有一次沒有產生結果，也要弄清楚新冠疫苗中發現的mRNA分子是否也可以通過蘭格博士和特拉弗索博士的龜殼藥片成功傳遞。
